London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Dec 19, 2025

Ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn reportedly flees house arrest in Tokyo for Lebanon

Ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn reportedly flees house arrest in Tokyo for Lebanon

Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s ousted chairman who was awaiting trial on criminal charges in Japan, flew to Lebanon on Monday evening, several outlets reported.
Whether he has struck a deal with prosecutors or fled is unknown.

Ghosn has denied charges of financial misconduct and misuse of corporate resources while running Nissan.

Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s ousted chairman who was awaiting trial on criminal charges in Japan, flew into Lebanon on Monday evening, France’s Les Echos newspaper reported.

The newspaper cited its own unnamed source and a report in Lebanese newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour. There was no immediate confirmation from official sources. Whether Ghosn has struck a deal with prosecutors or fled is unknown.

The Financial Times also reported that Ghosn was in Lebanon, according to a source close to his family and “a professional associate.”

Ghosn’s attorney did not have an immediate comment.

It was unclear how Ghosn, who holds both French and Lebanese citizenship, would have been able to leave Japan, where he has been under strict court-imposed restrictions on his movements.

Ghosn was ousted as chairman of Nissan and arrested in Japan a little over a year ago after then CEO Hiroto Saikawa accused him and another executive of a litany of financial misdeeds.

Saikawa abruptly resigned in September after an internal investigation found that he also allegedly pocketed excess pay. Nissan accused Ghosn and former Director Greg Kelly of concealing more than $327 million in payments to themselves and other executives — $187 million in nondisclosed compensation and $140 million in improper expenditures, according to a five-page summary of Nissan’s internal investigation released in September.

Ghosn, who was also running French automaker Renault as well as the fragile Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance, was removed from both of those positions while awaiting trial in Japan.

The Financial Times said Ghosn was no longer under house arrest, but said it was not clear whether he had escaped or a deal with prosecutors had been reached. Ghosn landed at Beirut’s Rafic al-Hariri international airport late on Sunday, the paper said, citing an associate of Ghosn’s.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that Ghosn had fled Japan.

Ghosn’s lawyers have asked a court to dismiss all charges against him. They accuse prosecutors of colluding with government officials and Nissan executives of ousting him to block any takeover of the automaker by French alliance partner Renault.

“Contrary to the accusations made by the prosecutors, I never received any compensation from Nissan that was not disclosed, nor did I ever enter into any binding contract with Nissan to be paid a fixed amount that was not disclosed,” Ghosn told a Japanese court in January.

After his arrest, Ghosn spent a long period in detention, but more recently was allowed out, subject to stringent bail conditions that required him to stay in Japan.

In September, Ghosn reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegedly false financial disclosures, paying a $1 million civil penalty and agreeing to a 10-year ban from serving as an officer or director of a public company. The SEC had charged Ghosn and others with concealing more than $140 million in compensation and retirement benefits.

Nissan also paid a $15 million civil penalty after the SEC charged the carmarker with violating anti-fraud rules. Both settlements were made without an admission or denial of the charges.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Issues Final Ultimatum to Roman Abramovich Over £2.5bn Chelsea Sale Funds for Ukraine
Rare Pink Fog Sweeps Across Parts of the UK as Met Office Warns of Poor Visibility
UK Police Pledge ‘More Assertive’ Enforcement to Tackle Antisemitism at Protests
UK Police Warn They Will Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’
Trump Files $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC as Broadcaster Pledges Legal Defence
UK Says U.S. Tech Deal Talks Still Active Despite Washington’s Suspension of Prosperity Pact
UK Mortgage Rules to Give Greater Flexibility to Borrowers With Irregular Incomes
UK Treasury Moves to Position Britain as Leading Global Hub for Crypto Firms
U.S. Freezes £31 Billion Tech Prosperity Deal With Britain Amid Trade Dispute
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
Apple Shutters All Retail Stores in the United Kingdom Under New National COVID-19 Lockdown
US–UK Technology Partnership Strains as Key Trade Disagreements Emerge
UK Police Confirm No Further Action Over Allegation That Andrew Asked Bodyguard to Investigate Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre Family Expresses Deep Disappointment as UK Police Decline New Inquiry Into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Claims
Transatlantic Trade Ambitions Hit a Snag as UK–US Deal Faces Emerging Challenges
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
×