Carlos Ghosn‘s questioning in Lebanon by French investigators was the first ‘fair’ treatment the former executive has received since his arrest in Japan, Ghosn’s lawyers were quoted by AFP as saying.
At the conclusion of Ghosn‘s interrogation in Beirut on Friday, which lasted 5 days, Jean Tamalet, one of his lawyers stated: “We consider that the whole process that happened here was fair.”
Throughout the questioning, Ghosn was heard as a witness, much to the disapproval of his defense team, who objected to this at the beginning of the process.
The French investigative delegation interrogated the fugitive businessman over allegations of financial misconduct in France, including expenses covered by a Dutch subsidiary of Renault and Nissan Motor Co.
Ghosn gave “long and detailed answers to hundreds of questions,” Tamalet said, adding that Ghosn had never been given “the opportunity to answer these kinds of questions in front of judges.”
These statements echo Ghosn‘s repeated claim that he faced injustice in Japan after he was arrested in 2018.
Prior to the arrival of French investigators in Lebanon, Ghosn had expressed excitement for the opportunity to share his side of the story, which ended with him mysteriously landing in Beirut in late 2019 after having escaped the Japanese judiciary.
For him to be formally indicted and gain access to the details of the charges he’s facing, Carlos Ghosn would have to be in France, where he holds citizenship in addition to his Lebanese and Brazilian passports.
