Two investigations against him in Paris and Nanterre

The money laundering and corruption scheme in the Carlos Ghosn case, according to the French investigation

Carlos Ghosn denies taking any bribes.

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Shortly after the French judiciary issued arrest warrants against Carlos Ghosn and four officials of a car distribution company in the Sultanate of Oman, Agence France-Presse is publishing a money-laundering scheme within an organized gang and the corruption that the investigators are talking about.

Carlos Ghosn categorically denies that he was involved in the acts attributed to him.

The 68-year-old former head of the Nissan-Renault alliance has been residing in Lebanon since his Hollywood-worthy escape from Japan at the end of 2019 where he was imprisoned awaiting trial for financial misconduct at the expense of Nissan.

"No yen from Nissan or any euro from Renault was embezzled for Carlos Ghosn," Jean Tamale, one of Ghosn's lawyers, confirmed to AFP.

two investigations

In France, there are two investigations in Paris and Nanterre targeting Ghosn.

The arrest warrant was issued against him by an investigative judge in Nanterre, in the Paris region, on charges of "misuse of company property", "money laundering within an organized gang" and "passive corruption" between 2012 and 2017.

In this context, Suhail Bahwan, founder of the Oman-based Suhail Bahwan Automobiles Company, his two sons and the company's former general manager are suspected of "money laundering within an organized gang".

Three of them are suspected of "misusing the company's property" and being involved in "active corruption", they are billionaire Sohail Bahwan, his son Ahmed and the company's general manager, Devimdi Kumar, between 2008 and 2018.

The beneficiary was Carlos Ghosn, according to the investigation.

Christoph Engren, Sohail Bahwan's lawyer, told AFP that his client "officially denies that he participated (...) in the violations stipulated in the arrest warrant."

It was not possible to contact his two sons and the former general manager of the company.

A source familiar with the investigation stated that serious and concerted indications allowed for suspicion that Carlos Ghosn was requesting the payment of bonuses from Renault to the “Suhail Bahwan Automobiles” company, “they are presented under the guise of rewards and the restoration of unsold inventory,” part of which is then sent to fictitious companies owned by parties. Close to Carlos Ghosn.

The investigation estimates these suspicious transfers at no less than 15 million euros.

«25 million euros»

Relations between Carlos Ghosn and Suhail Bahwan are at the core of this issue. Bahwan loaned "25 million euros" to Carlos Ghosn in light of the "2008 financial crisis", a loan that was "not requested", according to two sources familiar with the file.

Ghosn's lawyer declined to confirm the existence of this loan.

Among the purchases considered the result of this money-laundering operation, investigators identified a 37-meter yacht.

Ghosn's lawyer, Talami, said each payment from Renault "was subject to in-depth scrutiny by auditors".

Carlos Ghosn confirmed to the media that "Suhail Bahwan Automobiles" is still today the distributor of Renault.

"In light of the elements that have been gradually gathered through the criminal investigation, Renault has begun reviewing the strategy of its relationship with Suhail Bahwan Automobiles," Kami Hayeri, Renault's civil attorney, told AFP.

Emails

Over the years, this company, which acquired the Sultanate of Oman market in 2005, expanded its scope of activities to include Saudi Arabia in 2010 and Iran in 2013, and became an important partner for Renault.

The investigators are based in particular on emails exchanged by officials of the "Suhail Bahwan Automotive Company" and a Lebanese lawyer for Carlos Ghosn, who died in 2017, and were found on the hard drive of this lawyer's computer.

The Japanese judiciary handed over the hard drive in circumstances denounced by Ghosn's lawyers.

Ghosn denounces a "conspiracy" orchestrated by Japan, likening the investigating judge in Nanterre to a Japanese prosecutor.

Francois Zimmerai, one of Ghosn's lawyers, noted that the UN arbitrary detention team considered the Japanese judicial procedures "unfair".

He expected that this "deficiency caused by the Japanese judiciary, sooner or later," will have repercussions on the file.

The Public Prosecution Office in Nanterre stressed that the arrest warrant "is based on a set of indicators (...) that go beyond the elements provided by the Japanese judiciary."

Besides Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, the investigation also includes expenditures deemed suspicious from Dutch subsidiary RBNBV, and a sponsorship agreement between Renault and the company that runs the Palace of Versailles that Ghosn is suspected of personally benefiting from.

However, Carlos Ghosn denies this.

• Ghosn has been residing in Lebanon since he escaped in a manner worthy of Hollywood films from Japan at the end of 2019, where he was imprisoned awaiting trial on charges of financial irregularities at the expense of Nissan.

• Dangerous and concerted indications that allow it to be suspected that Carlos Ghosn was asking for bonuses from Renault to the Suhail Bahwan Automobiles Company, “presented under the guise of rewards and restoring unsold inventory,” part of which is then sent to fictitious companies owned by close associates of Carlos Ghosn.

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