BEIRUT – A decision by Japanese prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn’s wife shortly before the fugitive car boss was due to speak publicly about his case was “pathetic,” a spokeswoman for Ghosn said Tuesday.
The ousted Nissan Motor and Renault chairman fled to Lebanon, his childhood home, in late December from Japan, where he faced trial for alleged financial misconduct.
Ghosn is expected to speak on Wednesday at a news conference in Beirut and detail some of the claims he has made against Nissan since his arrest in November 2018. He has alleged there was a Japanese government-backed coup to oust him.
“Last time Carlos Ghosn announced a press conference and got re-arrested. This time, the day before he is announced to speak out freely for the first time, they issued an arrest warrant for his wife Carole Ghosn,” the spokeswoman said.
Japanese prosecutors issued the warrant for Ghosn’s wife Carole for perjury.
The prosecutors’ special investigation squad said Carole Ghosn is suspected of making a false statement during an examination of a witness at the Tokyo District Court last April.
The spokeswoman said Carole Ghosn voluntarily went back to Japan nine months ago to answer prosecutors’ questions and was free to go without any charges.
“The issuance of this warrant is pathetic,” she said.
Japan is looking for a way to extradite Ghosn but Lebanon and Japan have no extradition agreement and Lebanon does not normally extradite its own citizens.