Two pilots and an official with a private jet operator have been convicted in Turkey over the daring escape from Japan of former Nissan, Mistubishi, Renault and Michelin North America head Carlos Ghosn. Meanwhile two flight attendants were acquitted of failing to report a crime.
International fugitive Ghosn was once Fortune‘s “Asia Businessman of the Year,” “Man Of The Year, and “10 Most Powerful People In Business Outside The U.S.” His life has been chronicled in Japanese comics.
But he was arrested at Tokyo Narita airport in November 2018 for tax evasion and misappropriating Nissan coompany assets. He was granted bail, but re-arrested and released on new charges in April 2019. Renault then uncovered over $13 million in improper expenses he’d incurred.
On December 29, 2019 Ghosn left his apartment in Tokyo around 2:30 p.m. and went to a hotel. From there two men accompanied him on a bullet train to Osaka, where he stayed at an airport property near Kansai International Airport.
Ghosn’s escorts carried him out of the hotel in a large audio equipment box, and loaded it onto a Turkish-registered private jet that’s been reported as a part of other international intrigue in the past.
Here comes the Cossack cavalry… all the way from 🇷🇺 Moscow to Caracas 🇻🇪 aboard Bombardier TC-TSR via @abl75 #Venezuela #Maduro pic.twitter.com/0NOlIxnjbd
— Dan B (@idannyb) May 1, 2019
The box was in was never checked by customers officials as it departed the country, with the common belief being it was too large to x-ray. The jet took off from Osaka Kansai to Istanbul, and within an hour the box was moved onto a different aircraft which flew to Beirut.
To accommodate all of this, an employee at MNG Jet falsified passenger records. He claimed only limited knowledge, and that he and his family’s safety were threatened if he didn’t participate. The pilots claimed not to know Ghosn was on board, and weren’t a part of the conspiracy.
Japan believes the escape was orchestrated by former US Special Forces, who have since been extradited to Japan. Japan and Lebanon do not have an extradition treaty.
(HT: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)
Where is Chuck Norris when you need him?
Chuck is retired in Palos Verdes…
“Japan believes the escape was orchestrated by former US Special Forces, who have since been extradited to Japan.”
Do you have a source for that? The US doesn’t generally extradite its own citizens abroad for any reason, much less a rather insignificant (although entertaining) crime such as this.
Doug, it is not generally the policy of the United States to block extradition of its own citizens under bilateral treaty, and the US expeditiously concludes extradition treaties with other nations on the basis of reciprocity. The extradition process is proceeding in accordance with the 1978 treaty on extradition with Japan, and has been cleared by the Supreme Court.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/13/business/carlos-ghosn-escape-extradition-japan.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nissan-ghosn/men-charged-in-ghosn-escape-plot-ask-u-s-state-department-to-halt-extradition-letter-idUSKBN2AH2JV
Title says “Japanese CEO”, but he’s Lebanese. The company, Toyota, is based in Japan.
Gary–where’s the spell and grammar check? There are a ton of typos in this… ‘custoomer’, ‘Mistubishi’, ‘the box was in was never checked by customers officials’…