French authorities issue warrant for ousted Nissan chairman Ghosn

Nissan s former chairman Carlos Ghosn speaks to The Associated Press on May 25, 2021 in Dbayeh, north of Beirut, Lebanon. AP Photo PARIS - French prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant for the disgraced auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn, who fled Japan in 2019 for Lebanon in a gripping escape.

The prosecutor's office in the Paris suburb of Nanterre said Friday it issued a warrant for the former head of Nissan and Renault and four other people based on an investigation opened in 2019 into money laundering and abuse of company assets.

Prosecutors are investigating millions of dollars in alleged payments between the Renault-Nissan alliance and Suhail Bahwan Automobiles SBA, a vehicle distributor company in Oman.

The former head of the Nissan-Renault alliance fled to Lebanon in 2019 while on bail facing financial misconduct charges in Japan. He denies wrongdoing.

Ghosn said he learned about the new warrant Friday via the media, and he's barred from leaving Lebanon anyway.

I'm ready to defend myself, he told France's BFM television. He repeatedly insisted that he did not receive any money from the Oman distributor and that there was no embezzlement. Later Friday, Ghosn told Lebanese TV station Al-Jadeed that he had planned to retire in Lebanon a long time ago and questioned the timing of the arrest warrant.

The timing is surprising. Is a warrant issued two days before the French presidential election? Ghosn said so. This makes us a bit suspicious. There is a bad smell. Asked whether he might trigger a crisis between France and Lebanon, Ghosn said: I don't think so. There has to be an understanding between the two countries. He said French and Japanese judicial authorities should cooperate with Lebanese authorities and send cases to Beirut and judicial authorities in Lebanon to see if there was any wrongdoing. In his absence, he said there would be a trial in France.

The Nanterre prosecutors office described this warrant as the next step in the ongoing investigation, one of two separate cases involving Ghosn in France.

In an interview last year with The Associated Press, Ghosn was confident, energized and determined to fight to restore his reputation.

A statement sent Friday to the AP from his PR team called the French warrant surprising and suggested that it was ineffective as Ghosn is subject to a judicial ban on leaving Lebanese territory. Lebanon does not extradite its citizens.