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Ghosn Escaped Same Day Close Surveillance Ended, Sankei Says

A private security company hired by Nissan Motor Co. had been closely monitoring Ghosn while he was out on bail.

Ghosn Escaped Same Day Close Surveillance Ended, Sankei Says
Carlos Ghosn. (Photographer: Toru Hanai/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Carlos Ghosn slipped out of his Tokyo home moments after round-the-clock surveillance of his residence stopped on Dec. 29, Japan’s Sankei newspaper reported.

A private security company hired by Nissan Motor Co. had been closely monitoring Ghosn while he was out on bail, the newspaper said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The surveillance ended after Ghosn’s lawyer threatened the company with a lawsuit, Sankei said.

The 65-year-old multinational was arrested in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct on Nov. 19, 2018, while he was chief executive officer of Renault SA and chairman of Nissan. After lengthy prison stays, Tokyo’s district court let Ghosn post bail last March, overruling prosecutors’ objections that he was a flight risk.

Ghosn Escaped Same Day Close Surveillance Ended, Sankei Says

Ghosn said in a statement on Jan. 2 that his family played no role in aiding his escape, and that he alone organized his departure.

Japanese media reported that surveillance footage shows Ghosn left the house alone around lunch time on Dec. 29 and didn’t return. There has been conflicting reports on how he left his home, with some speculating he was smuggled from the premises inside a large musical case brought in earlier.

Nissan declined to comment on the Sankei report and other details. The Metropolitan Police also said there are currently no official announcements regarding the Ghosn case.

Ghosn somehow made it to an airport where he was flown to Istanbul and then to the capital of Lebanon, where he has citizenship. He was transferred between the two airplanes inside a box, a Turkish official said, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Ghosn’s lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said Friday the former executive had possession of a French passport that was placed in a locked, transparent case, according to NHK. His lawyers held the key to the lock, but as the case was made from plastic-like material, it could have been broken by a hammer, he said.

Turkish authorities have remanded five people as part of a probe into the private jet flights that carried Ghosn. MNG Jet confirmed that it leased a pair of aircraft to two different clients in December, with one set to fly from Dubai to Osaka and then to Istanbul, and the other scheduled from Istanbul to Beirut.

Ghosn plans to hold a press conference next week in Beirut to provide his version of events.

--With assistance from Kae Inoue.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuko Takeo in Tokyo at ytakeo2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Virginia Van Natta, Siraj Datoo

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.