Ghosn escaped same day close surveillance stopped, Sankei says

[TOKYO] Carlos Ghosn slipped out of his Tokyo home moments after round-the-clock surveillance of his residence stopped on Dec 29, Japan's Sankei newspaper reported.

A private security company hired by Nissan Motor Co had been closely monitoring Ghosn while he was out on bail, the newspaper said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The surveillance ended after Ghosn's lawyer threatened the company with a lawsuit, Sankei said.

The 65-year-old multinational was arrested in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct on Nov 19, 2018, while he was chief executive officer of Renault SA and chairman of Nissan. After lengthy prison stays, Tokyo's district court let Ghosn post bail last March, overruling prosecutors' objections that he was a flight risk.

Ghosn said in a statement on Jan 2 that his family played no role in aiding his escape, and that he alone organised his departure.

Japanese media reported that surveillance footage shows Ghosn left the house alone around noon on Dec 29 and didn't return. That contrasts with speculation that he was smuggled from the premises inside a large musical case brought in earlier.

Ghosn somehow made it to an airport where he was flown to Istanbul and then to the capital of Lebanon, where Ghosn has citizenship. He was transferred between the two airplanes inside a box, a Turkish official said, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Turkish authorities have remanded five people as part of a probe into the private jet flights that carried Ghosn. MNG Jet confirmed that it leased a pair of aircraft to two different clients in December, with one to fly from Dubai to Osaka and then to Istanbul, and the other scheduled from Istanbul to Beirut.

Ghosn plans to hold a press conference next week in Beirut to provide his version of events.

BLOOMBERG