The Lebanese judiciary has closed the criminal case related to Carlos Ghosn‘s entry to Israel on multiple occasions, without charging him.
Prosecutor-General Judge Ghassan Oueidat decided “not to prosecute Ghosn for the crimes attributed to him of entering the enemy country and dealing with it economically,” a source told AFP.
The reason behind this is the fact that “a statute of limitations of ten years had passed since the alleged crime,” the source added.
Middle East Eye
Back in January, shortly after the former Renault-Nissan chief unexpectedly landed in Beirut from Japan, a group of Lebanese lawyers filed a lawsuit against him for “entering [Israel] and violating the law of boycotting Israel” while working for the foreign automobile company abroad.
The lawsuit also cited information that Ghosn had signed several contracts for the company with Israel and attended a number of economic conferences there.
The most notable of those contacts was during a Nissan-Renault Middle East tour in 2008, wherein the 66-year-old met with Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former President Shimon Peres.
For context, Lebanese law prohibits citizens from entering Israel, having contact with its people, or engaging in trade, directly or indirectly, with Israel, under the 1955 Israel boycott law.
The fugitive businessman has been living in his residence in Lebanon ever since he landed in Beirut almost a year ago.
In a recent TV interview, Ghosn, who holds French and Brazilian passports in addition to his Lebanese one, said that he is currently forced to stay in Lebanon, due to fears of problems arising along his way out that could end up in his extradition to Japan.
