International fugitive Carlos Ghosn spoke for the first time since fleeing Japan and called himself the victim of an inside job at Nissan
BEIRUT - Carlos Ghosn, speaking publicly for the first time since his dramatic escape from Japanese justice, said on Wednesday he had been treated “brutally” by Tokyo prosecutors and was the victim of an inside job to oust him from the helm of automaker Nissan.
Ghosn said he had escaped to his childhood home of Lebanon to clear his name and declined to say how he fled, noting there were conflicting stories about his astonishing escape. “Defendant Ghosn’s allegations completely ignore his own conduct and his one-sided criticism of the Japanese criminal justice system is totally unacceptable,” the Tokyo prosecutor’s office said after Ghosn spoke.
Ghosn declined to name Japanese government officials he said took part in the alleged plot because he said he did not want to embarrass the Lebanese government, but added he did not think the top level of the Japanese government was involved.Ghosn covered many subjects, talking about his Marie Antoinette-themed party at the Palace of Versailles in France and describing harsh confinement in Tokyo’s main jail.
Ghosn became most animated in describing how he thought the Nissan-Renault alliance had lost its way since his departure, saying it had fallen behind in investment in technology, profitability and market value and failed to seize opportunities such as a potential tie-up with Fiat-Chrysler. “I didn’t escape because I was guilty, I escaped because I had zero chance for a free trial,” he said, adding that he was prepared to stand trial in any of his three home countries, Lebanon, France or Brazil, none of which have extradition agreements with Japan.
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