Turkey arrests seven people on suspicion of facilitating escape of Carlos Ghosn

The Turkish authorities arrested seven people in Istanbul, Thursday, on suspicion of helping the former Nissan manager, Carlos Ghosn, to escape from Japan to Lebanon.

According to the official Turkish news agency, an investigation has been launched into the incident of facilitating the escape of Ghosn, who was under house arrest in Osaka, Japan, on charges of abuse of privileges, to Lebanon after arriving illegally at the Ataturk Airport, and then to the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The news agency noted that, as part of the investigations, the Turkish authorities arrested seven people working in a private cargo airline company, including four pilots, two service employees and the company’s operations manager.

Read: Ex-Nissan chief flees Japan to Lebanon leaving officials ‘dumbfounded’

The Turkish security services confirmed that the investigations are still ongoing with the detainees.

The ex-Nissan boss, Carlos Ghosn, announced last Tuesday, after his sudden arrival in Lebanon, that he did not escape justice in Japan, but instead left the Japanese territory to avoid “injustice and political persecution.”

Ghosn revealed his location in a statement issued by his spokesperson, without explaining how he left Japan and promised to speak with reporters next week.

Ghosn, 65, French-born, Brazilian and of Lebanese descent, was arrested in Tokyo on 19 November 2018, and then imprisoned for 130 days. Ghosn was subsequently released on bail, pending his trial in April 2020, on four charges related to suspicions of financial misconduct he committed while he was the manager of Nissan, the automobile manufacturer he previously saved from bankruptcy.