‘They threatened to go after my family’: Ghosn accuses Nissan and Japanese prosecutors of COLLUSION

Nissan’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn has made his first public appearance since his sensational escape from Japan, accusing the company of colluding with prosecutors, and claiming his family was in jeopardy.

"I did not escape justice. I fled injustice and political persecution,” Ghosn told a conference room packed with international journalists in Beirut, Lebanon.

The businessman, who was due to face trial for embezzlement and under-reporting his income in Japan, said that fleeing the country was “the most difficult decision” of his life. However, he said that he had no other choice as his family was allegedly in danger.

Ghosn claims that Japanese officials told him: “It will be over if you just confess. If you don’t confess, not only are we going to go after you, we are going to go after your family.”

He said he was treated “brutally” by police who “spent 14 months trying to break my spirit, barring any contact with my wife.”

The businessman with French, Lebanese and Brazilian nationality, who essentially saved Nissan from bankruptcy two decades ago, disappointed the press by saying he wasn’t planning to reveal how he managed to escape from Japan before the New Year.

Some reports claim that Ghosn, who had been under house arrest since spring of last year, used public transport to get from Tokyo to Osaka, where he was carried aboard a private jet inside a crate used for transporting musical instruments. 

“I am here to talk about why I left,” the 65-year-old pointed out, blaming the Japanese justice system for violating his basic human rights and being particularly strict on foreigners.

He said all charges against him were “baseless” and claimed that the real reason for his persecution was his work to deepen the alliance between Nissan and French car-maker Renault.

“Some of my Japanese friends thought that the only way to get rid of the influence of Renault on Nissan, was to get rid of me,” he explained. 

He claims his arrest was a result of “collusion between Nissan and the prosecutors,” who did what the company told them.

The businessman said he was eager to clear his name and find justice elsewhere if it was impossible to do so in Japan.

Tokyo prosecutors were left unimpressed with Ghosn’s press-conference, saying that the man was unable to justify his escape from the country.

They also branded the businessman’s allegations of conspiracy between them and Nissan as “false.”

Instead, the prosecutors insisted that Ghosn had only himself to blame for his troubles and vowed to keep working to bring him back to Japan for trial.

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