London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 20, 2025

Carlos Ghosn: Ex-Nissan boss says he wants a trial

Carlos Ghosn: Ex-Nissan boss says he wants a trial

Fugitive former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has said he wants to stand trial on charges of financial wrongdoing in order to clear his name.

He spoke to the BBC after France issued an international warrant for his arrest, citing allegedly suspect payments.

Mr Ghosn said he was "expecting" the move though he was "surprised at the timing".

Mr Ghosn faced charges of financial misconduct when he fled Japan in 2019.

The former head of Nissan, once one of the most powerful figures in the car industry, is currently unable to leave Lebanon, as he is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued by Japan.

He told the BBC: "I want to stand trial because that's the only way I can get rid of the Red Notice which today forbids me from leaving Lebanon."

He said he wanted a trial in Lebanon on the charges brought against him in Japan, and any that emerge from the French investigation - and was "totally confident" he could prove his innocence.

Prosecutors in France are investigating claims that Mr Ghosn funnelled millions of euros from Renault through Suhail Bahwan Automobiles.

According to reports first published in the Wall Street Journal, he used the money for personal purchases including that of a 120-foot yacht.

An investigating magistrate in France has now issued five international arrest warrants against Mr Ghosn and four people linked to a car distributor in Oman.

Mr Ghosn told the BBC on Friday: "There was not one euro [from Nissan or Renault] that ended up benefitting me directly or indirectly".

He denied he was a fugitive from justice - and repeated previous claims he had left Japan because he would not have had a fair trial there.

Mr Ghosn said the charges against him were part of a conspiracy to derail his plans for a full merger between Renault and Nissan.


Since his escape, Carlos Ghosn has repeatedly claimed that the charges against him in Japan were baseless.

They were, he maintains, part of a conspiracy, designed to prevent him from orchestrating a merger between Nissan and its French partner Renault.

But for several years a separate investigation has been quietly taking place in France. An investigating magistrate recently questioned Mr Ghosn at length in Beirut.

The decision to issue an international arrest warrant suggests the French side believes there is a genuine case to answer at least.

Mr Ghosn has said he would be happy to stand trial in France to clear his name, and his lawyers seem confident that would happen. But there's a problem.

The former executive is banned from leaving Lebanon because he is still subject to an extradition request from Japan, even though that request is highly unlikely to be granted.

For the moment, he remains in a legal limbo.

Mr Ghosn once ran the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, one of the biggest car-making groups in the world.

He was arrested in Japan in late 2018, and faced a number of charges, including claims he deliberately mis-reported his earnings and used company money to fund his own lifestyle. He denied any wrongdoing.

He has previously spoken of his dramatic escape from Japan, which involved disguising himself to go unnoticed through the streets of Tokyo, being hidden in a large music equipment box and fleeing to his native Lebanon as he awaited trial.

Mr Ghosn, who holds Brazilian, Lebanese and French passports, cannot be extradited to France from Beirut, although he confirmed to the BBC that he has been questioned as part of the investigation.

'Surprising'


He said he thought France had issued the arrest warrant because under its law the investigation could not be closed unless he was in French territory.

"So in a certain way we were expecting something like this to happen," he said. "What was surprising was the timing...and also that we knew about it through an American newspaper...without me being officially alerted."

Earlier, his lawyer, Jean Tamalet at King & Spalding, told the BBC: "We believe this move is the only technical resort they found to be able in the future to try the case in a court of law."

Warrants were also issued against the current owners and former directors of the car distributor, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles.

The Omani firm did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
×