Tokyo Prosecutors Obtain Arrest Warrant for Ghosn's Wife

Tokyo, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)--The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's special investigation squad on Tuesday obtained an arrest warrant for former Nissan Motor Co. <7201> Chairman Carlos Ghosn's wife, Carole, 53. The development came after Ghosn, indicted in Japan for a series of alleged financial crimes, fled the country to Lebanon late last month, violating his bail terms. The special squad is considering putting Carole, believed to be with Ghosn now, on an international wanted list through Interpol, informed sources said. But the Lebanese side is unlikely to transfer Carole to Japan because she has Lebanese citizenship, as her husband does, the sources said. Carole is suspected of giving false testimony during questioning over the allegations that Ghosn, 65, committed special breach of trust by funneling funds of the major Japanese automaker to a Lebanese investment company effectively controlled by him via SBA, an Omani sales agent, investigative sources said. The special squad suspects that Carole, who appeared as a witness at closed-door interrogation at Tokyo District Court on April 11, 2019, lied when she said she did not remember contacting a senior accounting official of SBA after her husband was arrested for allegedly violating the financial instruments and exchange law. The special squad seized Carole's smartphone during its investigations into Ghosn and confirmed that she and the SBA official communicated by email many times, the sources said. The prosecution team believes that Carole attempted to destroy the evidence suggesting that she and the official had coordinated their stories, as part of the diverted Nissan funds was apparently funneled to entities including a company headed by Carole. A lawyer of Ghosn who accompanied Carole in the interrogation explained at the time that she said she would speak the truth about what she remembered to prove her husband's innocence and that she did not refuse to give testimony. The interrogation lasted for about three hours through an interpreter, with Carole questioned by both the prosecutor and defense sides. Under the criminal procedure and other laws, if a person who obviously has knowledge indispensable for investigations refuses to face voluntary questioning, prosecutors can request a court to summon the person as a witness for interrogation. The special investigation squad asked Carole to accept voluntary questioning on April 4, 2019, when Ghosn, who was on bail at the time, was served a fourth arrest warrant, for the special breach of trust charges. But Carole left Japan the following day. END