Tokyo (AFP)

By taking refuge in Lebanon, Carlos Ghosn committed an "extremely regrettable" act and flouted the Japanese legal system, car group Nissan estimated on Tuesday, while details of his resounding escape continued to filter through the Japanese media.

"His flight to Lebanon without the permission of the court, in violation of the conditions of his bail, flouts the Japanese judicial system. Nissan finds this extremely regrettable," wrote the Japanese manufacturer in its first official statement on this spectacular twist.

"Nissan has discovered numerous acts of misconduct attributable to Ghosn after a thorough internal investigation," said the group, which had denounced it to the authorities and dismissed it shortly after its arrest on November 19, 2018 for alleged financial embezzlement.

Nissan claims that there is "irrefutable evidence of various wrongdoings" on its part, including "inaccurate statements about his compensation and a misappropriation of company assets for his personal benefit".

The Japanese manufacturer, who changed direction since early December to settle the Ghosn era, will continue to cooperate with the justice system and to prosecute his former boss so that he assumes responsibility for the "damage" he caused him, according to the press release.

The Tokyo court confirmed on Tuesday that it had canceled Ghosn's bail, meaning that his bail of 1.5 billion yen (over 12 million euros) will not be returned to him.

The former big boss of Renault and Nissan had been enjoying bail since the end of April 2019, surrounded by strict conditions including a formal ban on leaving Japanese territory pending his trial, which was due to open this year. in Tokyo.

- Two stooges with two large pieces of luggage -

He is suspected of having fled by taking a private jet at Kansai International Airport, near Osaka (west), on the evening of December 29, in the company of two suspected accomplices, and of having avoided the controls. by being hidden in a box of music equipment.

X-ray screening of luggage has not been mandatory in Japan until now for flights on private jets, unlike airliners.

The Japanese government has just corrected this flaw: "The Ministry of Transport has informed me of the implementation of the obligation to inspect large baggage including for business jets," announced Tuesday the Minister of Justice Masako Mori during a press point.

This measure was taken on Monday in two airports in Tokyo (Haneda and Narita), that of Kansai and the Chubu Centrair International Airport, located near Nagoya (center of the country), she said.

According to the Japanese public television channel NHK, citing sources close to the investigation, the two accomplices of Carlos Ghosn in his escape are of American nationality. They allegedly arrived at Kansai Airport on the morning of December 29 in a private jet from Dubai, with two large caissons similar to the one in which Mr. Ghosn later hid.

The two men then took a high-speed train (shinkansen) to Tokyo where they found Mr. Ghosn in a hotel, before making the opposite route to Osaka, this time in his company and always in shinkansen. They then joined a hotel near Kansai airport, where they had left the two caissons, according to the NHK.

The two alleged accomplices left this hotel with two large bags at around 10:30 p.m. to reach the airport, but Carlos Ghosn was no longer visible by their side.

Arrived on December 30 in Lebanon after a lightning transit in Istanbul, the Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian of 65 years will hold Wednesday a press conference eagerly awaited in Beirut, the first since his arrival on the spot.

© 2020 AFP