French justice has issued an international arrest warrant against Carlos Ghosn, former boss of the Renault Nissan alliance (RNBV), as part of an investigation conducted in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) in particular for abuse of corporate assets and money laundering, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said on Friday.
The Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian, who was to be tried in Tokyo for financial embezzlement, has lived in Beirut since his incredible flight from Japan at the end of 2019.
If the arrest warrant is executed, Carlos Ghosn will be directly presented to a Nanterre investigating judge who will notify him of his indictment.
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In Nanterre, investigators are interested in nearly 15 million euros in payments considered suspicious between RNBV and the distributor of the French car manufacturer in Oman, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA).
The Nanterre investigating judge in charge of the investigation has issued five international arrest warrants in total: they target, in addition to Carlos Ghosn, “the current owners or former managers of the Omani company SBA”, specified the prosecution. .
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This mandate is very surprising
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The Renault group, a civil party in this case and which had never expressed itself until now, “takes note of the decision of the magistrates”, indicated to AFP its lawyer Me Kami Haeri.
“It is not an arrest warrant issued by France but by the court of Nanterre during an ongoing investigation, more precisely by the parquet floor of Nanterre”, reacted one of the lawyers of Mr. Ghosn, Jean Tamalet, King and Spalding.
“This mandate is very surprising because the investigating judge and the Nanterre prosecutor know perfectly well that Carlos Ghosn, who has always cooperated with justice, is subject to a judicial ban on leaving Lebanese territory”, added Mr. Tamalet.
Asked by BFM TV Friday evening, Carlos Ghosn said he was “ready” to defend himself. “I have gathered enough elements for justice to finally decide. »
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