Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan: The big questions

Carlos Ghosn caught even his lawyers off-guard in making a bold escape. Photo / Getty Images

Carlos Ghosn said he arrived in his home country Lebanon, fleeing what he called "injustice and political persecution" in Japan. The stunning escape was achieved while the former Nissan chairman was under strict bail conditions and daily surveillance by police and prosecutors as he awaited trial to defend himself against charges of financial misconduct.

Here are the key questions:

1) How did he escape?

When the full details finally emerge, Ghosn's escape may rank as one of the great vanishing acts of all time. How, exactly, could one of the most recognised faces in Japan, whose every move outside his apartment was watched by the authorities, and whose three passports are still in his lawyers' possession, slip through all of these and make it from central Tokyo to Beirut?

Speculation in diplomatic and legal circles has produced theories over how the escape was engineered. One theory involving Ghosn exiting his Tokyo house in a box used for musical instruments was denied by people close to him. People with knowledge of the details told the FT that he hired private security operatives to help him evade his police tail — he was not required to wear an electronic bracelet — and make it to the international airport in Osaka, where he boarded a private jet.

Security experts say it is unlikely Ghosn could have engineered such a daring exit without a false passport and a significant level of organisational assistance and planning at all stages. In the aftermath of his escape, a growing chorus of government officials and diplomats in Japan, Lebanon and France professed dumbfounded amazement. However, it seems unlikely, as one diplomat who has dealt with a similar issue in Japan suggested, that the 65-year-old could have done this alone — raising the question of whether he benefited from direct or indirect help from any governments.

Junichiro Hironaka, who heads Ghosn's legal team in Japan, said his flight to Lebanon "came out of the blue." "A very large organisation must have acted to pull this off," he said.

A Lebanese official confirmed a local media report that Ghosn entered the country with a French passport. Lebanon's General Security Directorate said there was no reason to take legal proceedings against him, according to state news agency NNA. French authorities were not available for comments on Wednesday.

2) What is the reaction in Japan?

Official Japanese reaction has been muted to Ghosn's flight, which came a week after a visit to Beirut by Keisuke Suzuki, minister of state for foreign affairs who spent time with the Lebanese president and other officials. Japanese foreign ministry officials say that the possibility of Ghosn travelling to Lebanon was not discussed during the meeting.
Some in Japan, meanwhile, have questioned just how enraged the Japanese prosecutors will be that their highest profile suspect for many years is now very unlikely to stand trial. In theory they will be furious that Ghosn humiliated them, say legal experts.

But privately they may feel they have dodged a potentially greater blow to their pride from a trial that would have also put their conduct under intense and protracted global scrutiny.

Japanese prosecutors, under immense pressure to maintain their 99 per cent conviction record, tend to take on the cases they know they can win: in many instances, they are only comfortable heading into court when they already have a confession. They did not have one from Ghosn and, according to some legal experts, were anticipating a knife-edge trial at which Ghosn's lawyers were explicitly planning to attack the way that the prosecutors built their case and the alleged political motivations behind it.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, which are closed ahead of the new year holiday, could not be reached for comment.

3) Can Ghosn travel and work?

In a brief statement on Tuesday, Ghosn appeared to make an immediate start on shaping his image beyond Japan, the indignity of his arrest and the trial he will now likely avoid.

He is not, according to this narrative, a fugitive from justice, but from an unjust system — language that seems calculated to secure him a quick rehabilitation in some circles. Could the once famous embodiment of "Davos Man" make a surprise return to the World Economic Forum in (neutral) Switzerland next month?

Police guard the street hosting the residence of Ghosn. Photo / File

Probably not. Friends of Ghosn say it is likely that he will base himself exclusively in Lebanon in coming months. But the travel restrictions he faces may not hold him there indefinitely since Japan only has an extradition treaty with South Korea and the US.
Hassan Diab, Lebanon's new prime minister-designate, is trying to assemble a Cabinet to deal with Lebanon's worst financial and economic crisis in decades. Some in Beirut speculate that Ghosn, still lauded for his business savvy in Lebanon, might be called up.

His job prospects in the US, however, are grim. In September, Ghosn agreed to pay US$1m (NZ$1.49m) to settle fraud charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations the former Nissan boss hid more than US$140m of his pay package. Ghosn neither admitted nor denied any of the charges made by the SEC but the settlement bans him from senior positions in any US company for a decade.

The three carmakers in the alliance — Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi — also started their own probes into Ghosn's activities, though these have now concluded. French investigations into the funding of a lavish party at the Versailles castle and payments from a Dutch company funded by the alliance and run by Ghosn are also pending.

More than a year after his arrest, Ghosn remains defiant. "If you want to escape and run away for the rest of your life, you don't say where you are," says one person who knows him well. "I don't think this is over."

4) Where does this leave the trial in Japan?

Ghosn's escape is likely to upset the entire judicial proceedings surrounding the four charges the car industry executive faces, all of which he denies. Two of those allegations relate to understating his pay by more than US$80m in Nissan's financial statements.
The trial for these two charges would also involve Nissan, which is accused of falsifying its former boss's pay, and Greg Kelly, who is charged with conspiring with Ghosn to understate his pay. Kelly, who denies the charges, remains in Tokyo awaiting trial. People close to Nissan, which co-operated with Tokyo prosecutors in building their case against Ghosn, were baffled by his flight to Lebanon, questioning how the trial can proceed without the key defendant.

Ghosn also faces a separate trial for breach of trust charges. If he does not appear on the first day of trial which was expected to be as early as April 2020, court proceedings are likely to be suspended.

Prosecutors had argued he was a flight risk during the most recent round of bail negotiations in April. If the court determines that he breached his bail conditions, it would also confiscate ¥1.5b (NZ$20m) in bail posted by Ghosn.

Ghosn's arrest in November 2018 has shone a spotlight on Japan's justice system and the extreme pressure applied to extract confessions from suspects. His lawyers had earlier demanded the dismissal of charges against Ghosn, arguing that Japanese prosecutors, government officials and executives at Nissan "unlawfully colluded" to bring him down.

While denouncing Ghosn's escape as "unforgivable", Hironaka, his lawyer, expressed some understanding for why his client felt that he would not be able to receive a fair trial in Japan.

Still, analysts say Ghosn is expected to face hard questions on his decision to ignore Japan's judicial system and flee to a country where it does not have an extradition treaty. "At this point, Ghosn has turned from a defendant to fugitive," said Koji Endo, head of equity research at SBI Securities. "If the trial in Japan is not going to be carried out, he has willingly abandoned a chance to fight for his legitimacy."

5) How is Carlos Ghosn perceived in Lebanon?

Many within the Lebanese elite are sympathetic to Ghosn and point to an unduly harsh Japanese penal system. "The guy should be given the time of day to prove his innocence, if truly that is the case," one banker said. It emerged on Wednesday that the Lebanese Government had renewed a request for Carlos Ghosn to be permitted to return to Lebanon when Keisuke Suzuki visited Beirut on 20 December.

Lebanon's establishment have in the past glorified Ghosn, even putting him on a postage stamp. After his arrest last year, a supporter paid for billboards across the city to read "We are all Carlos Ghosn."

But Ghosn arrives in a country in economic turmoil and political upheaval: the largest anti-corruption protests against political elites have caused the collapse of the Government. Many ordinary Lebanese are more cynical about the multi-millionaire, and do not view the fugitive as a national hero. "I don't know anything good he did for Lebanon," one local entrepreneur said.

Written by: Leo Lewis and Kana Inagaki in Tokyo, and Chloe Cornish in Beirut

© Financial Times