Carlos Ghosn Saga: Wife Charged In Japan With Perjury, Husband To Speak Publicly On Wednesday

Prosecutors in Tokyo obtained an arrest warrant Tuesday for Carole Ghosn, the wife of Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan Motor chairman who escaped Japan for Lebanon last week, on suspicion of perjury.

Prosecutors said Carole Ghosn provided false testimony in court last year in her husband's case regarding the questionable transfer of funds from one company to his personal account. These actions allegedly led to Nissan incurring heavy losses.

However, the allegations against the wife were unrelated to her husband’s dramatic departure from Japan.

Carole Ghosn had earlier been prohibited by Japanese authorities from meeting with her husband after his release on bail over fears she could help tamper with evidence in a bid to exonerate him.

A spokeswoman for Carole Ghosn called the arrest warrant “pathetic.”

“Last time Carlos Ghosn announced a news conference [in Japan] and got rearrested. 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 told Reuters.

Carlos Ghosn fled Japan while he was free on bail awaiting trial on charges of alleged financial misconduct while at the helm of Nissan. He was able to flee the country despite the fact that Japanese authorities reportedly were watching his movements and communications closely.

Japanese surveillance footage revealed Carlos Ghosn left his house in Tokyo at about 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 29, met two non-Japanese men, and took a train to Osaka in the western part of the country. From there he apparently boarded an airplane at Kansai International Airport bound for Turkey, then took a private jet to Beirut.

At Kansai, he reportedly slipped past airport security by hiding inside a large case meant to hold audio equipment – the case was too big for the X-ray machine screeners at the airport.

Japan’s Justice Ministry has since ordered immigration officials to tighten all departure procedures and investigate any suspicious activity at airports.

Japanese Justice Minister Masako Mori reiterated on Monday she will pursue a criminal prosecution of Carlos Ghosn.

“It is clear that we don’t have any records of the defendant departing Japan; hence, we believe that he left Japan illegally,” Mori said.

But since Lebanon and Japan have no extradition treaty in place, it remains unclear if the couple can be returned to Japan to face charges.

Japan's chief government spokesman said Tokyo has asked Lebanon to cooperate with their investigation to uncover exactly how Ghosn escaped. The Japanese Foreign Ministry also said the Japanese Ambassador to Beirut Takeshi Okubo planned to meet later Tuesday with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who has denied claims he personally met with Carlos Ghosn when the fugitive arrived in Beirut.

Carole Ghosn holds a U.S. passport and potentially could be the target of an extradition request from Japan to the U.S.

Earlier on Tuesday, Carlos Ghosn's former employer, Nissan Motor Co., said it would pursue legal action against him, saying he engaged in serious misconduct.

“The company will continue to take appropriate legal action to hold Ghosn accountable for the harm that his misconduct has caused to Nissan,” the company stated. “Nissan discovered numerous acts of misconduct by Ghosn through a robust, thorough internal investigation.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also determined Ghosn’s conduct was “fraudulent,” Nissan added.

The Ghosns reportedly are living in a home in a wealthy Beirut suburb under the protection of armed guards. Carlos Ghosn said he will hold a press conference to discuss his activities on Wednesday.

Carlos Ghosn has denied all charges against him and claimed he was betrayed by former colleagues at Nissan. Hiroto Saikawa, Ghosn’s successor at Nissan, also resigned last year amid allegations of financial misconduct.

Carlos Ghosn has told Fox Business he possesses “actual evidence” his arrest in Japan was related to a government-supported coup to “take him out” over plans to merge Nissan and Renault, and added he will “name names” at his much anticipated news conference.

Carlos Ghosn is widely expected to blast the Japanese legal system – an apparatus he has already condemned as “rigged.”

Carole Ghosn has also criticized the French establishment for not helping her husband in his legal morass. Carlos Ghosn is a citizen of Lebanon, Brazil and France.

“The silence from the Elysee Palace is deafening,” she told the French publication Journal du Dimanche. “I thought France was a country that defended the presumption of innocence. They’ve all forgotten everything Carlos did for France’s economy and for Renault.”