Carlos Ghosn makes first public appearance after fleeing Japan

Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has held his first press conference since leaving Japan, following charges of alleged financial misconduct.

Once considered a titan of the car industry, Ghosn posted bail last April and was awaiting trial in Tokyo after being arrested in November 2018, following allegations of underreporting his earnings and misuse of company assets.

However, despite being under 24-hour surveillance and the subject of a travel ban, Ghosn managed to flee Japan in December 2019 to Beirut where he has been speaking, claiming to have been “brutally” ripped from his work, his family and his friends.

Ghosn wouldn’t reveal exactly how he fled Japan, but instead spoke at length about the allegations facing him, and the treatment he says he was subjected to in Japan which he said included 130 days in solitary confinement.

He said “choosing to escape was the most difficult decision of my life”, and that he had no choice. He said: “I did not escape justice, I fled injustice.” There’s currently a ‘Red Notice’ alert on Interpol’s website for Ghosn.

Ghosn claims one of the reasons for his arrest and the charges was because of Nissan’s poor performance at the start of 2017. Denying the fraud charges against him, he responded to a question from a reporter, saying: “I can do a lot, and I am going to clear my name.”