The French judiciary issued an international arrest warrant this Friday (22) against Brazilian Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of Renault and Nissan. Ghosn, who lives in Lebanon and was arrested in Japan for alleged financial crimes, said he was “surprised” by the arrest warrant, according to his spokesman.
“That’s a surprise. Ghosn has always cooperated with French authorities,” the Brazilian spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.
Later, in an interview with French broadcaster BFM TV, Ghosn said he found the arrest warrant issued by the French judiciary “surprisingly timely”, at a “politically charged” time, in relation to France’s presidential election, the second round of which is taking place on Sunday (24th).
The arrest warrant was issued as part of an investigation carried out in Nanterre (HautsdeSeine) into misuse of company assets and money laundering, the prosecutor told the French press.
Ghosn, who also has Lebanese and French nationals, should have been tried in Tokyo for financial embezzlement. But he has lived in Beirut since fleeing Japan in late 2019, and the country does not extradite its citizens.
Prosecutors in France have issued international arrest warrants for Ghosn and four others. One of the warrants targets billionaire Suhail Bahwan, who owns a car dealership in Oman that prosecutors claim was used to funnel Renault funds for Ghosn’s personal use.
The other three arrest warrants are for Bahwan’s two sons and the former chief executive of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, he said.
In Nanterre, investigators are interested in suspicious payments of almost 15 million euros between RNBV (Renault/Nissan consortium) and Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA), the French automaker’s distributor in Oman.
2 of 2 Carlos Ghosn, who ran multinational Nissan, was arrested in Japan in November 2018 Photo: AFP
Carlos Ghosn, who ran the multinational Nissan, was arrested in Japan in November 2018 Photo: AFP