Accused of financial embezzlement, Carlos Ghosn, still a refugee in Lebanon, continues to defend himself. In an interview with the Parisian published Monday July 20, the former boss of Renault-Nissan, arrested in Japan in November 2018, justified the reason for his absence when summoned by French justice. He was to be heard on July 13 by an investigating judge in Nanterre, according to the French daily.

"My lawyers have been discussing the conditions of this hearing with the investigating judge for weeks. There is a technical obstacle. My passport is in the hands of the Attorney General in Lebanon, because Japan has issued an international arrest warrant to me. concerning ", explained Carlos Ghosn, specifying that to go to France he must" cross other countries ".

Doubts about his safety and freedom of movement

The former car magnate also wants to be certain that "[s] ve security is assured and that [he] is guaranteed freedom of movement". "No one can assure me that the trip will be uninterrupted, without accident. The judge could, for example, have me interrogated in Beirut, where I am ready to answer all his questions," he said.

Carlos Ghosn was under judicial supervision when he was exfiltrated in Lebanon. He was out on bail, prohibited from leaving Japan, when he was exfiltrated from the archipelago during a spectacular escape on the evening of December 29.

Once in Lebanon, he posed as the victim of a "set-up" and assured that he had "no other choice" than to flee from "biased" justice.

In early July, an Istanbul court began trying seven Turkish nationals accused of helping Carlos Ghosn escape. According to the indictment, Carlos Ghosn was hidden during the journey in a bulky case for a musical instrument in which holes had been drilled to allow the fugitive to breathe.

"I don't have the usual connections of French employers"

Asked by Le Parisien what he expected from France, Carlos Ghosn replied that he was "not naive". "I did not do the ENA, I do not have the usual connections of French employers, I do not belong to the establishment. The microcosm did not consider me, rightly, as one of its own" , he detailed.

Asked also about his disputed record at the head of the Renault-Nissan alliance, he replied that he was "proud".

"I would like someone to explain to me, if I was wrong, why my contract was renewed in June 2018, just a few months before my arrest in Japan? The board of directors, where two representatives of the "State, asked me as a whole to stay four more years. They knew everything about me: my strategy, my management, my personality. I have been at the head of Nissan for 13 years, 13 years old Renault, 3 years at Mitsubishi. If I had been a 'crazy about volumes' (production, note), we would have noticed, right? ", he observed.

With AFP

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