Ghosn savages accusers in first public address
Arguably the world's most notorious fugitive has held a press conference. It lived up to its billing
Those bored this Wednesday lunchtime could have done a lot worse than watch Carlos Ghosn's press conference live from Beirut. You'll doubtless be well aware by now that he fled to Lebanon over the Christmas period, allegedly stuffed in an instrument case, evading the Japanese authorities that first arrested him towards the end of 2018. Today was Ghosn's first appearance in public since then, more than an hour on stage telling the assembled press and thousands watching online his version of events.
It didn't detail that audacious escape, other than to say he "fled injustice and persecution", but it was a fascinating 60 minutes or so, nonetheless. Ghosn spoke of his treatment as a "travesty" against his human rights, how the Japanese judicial system "violates principles of humanity" and of the "systematic campaign" levelled against him by colleagues and prosecutors. You expected something meek and objective? The accusations were "baseless", with "malevolent actors" employing a "systematic leaking of false information" to secure his arrest, according to him. It was an impassioned, emotional, occasionally quite bizarre speech from a man at the centre of an incredible scandal.
Of the most significant accusation against him, that of misreported pay, Ghosn is - entirely unsurprisingly - defiant: there was no misreporting because there was no compensation. "It was not decided [by the board], not fixed, not paid", said Ghosn, who mentioned collusion between former colleagues and the Japanese authorities leading to his arrest.
Stood in front of a wall of projected statements and agreements not unlike a school presentation, Ghosn spoke about pretty much everything that's been under scrutiny for the past 14 months. Apparently the use of the Versailles Palace for a birthday party didn't incur any cost to the company, and the properties he used when CEO in Beirut and Rio were the property of the alliance. Ghosn wanted to speak with "facts, data and innocence" about his alleged wrongdoing, and maintains that he is a victim of a concerted effort to oust him.
Of these "unscrupulous, vindictive individuals" at Nissan, Ghosn believes they were wary of the increased Renault influence on the alliance, the irreversible steps that were being taken; particularly so with the French government as a Renault shareholder and with increased voting rights compared to Nissan, despite an identical stake. As the Frenchman sees it, Nissan saw Ghosn's removal as the way to Renault exerting less influence over alliance decisions. "And the Japanese were right" reckons the former CEO, with Nissan now enjoying more autonomy and the alliance nothing more than a "masquerade". As for why the Fiat-Chrysler mega-merger fell through, he describes it as "unbelievable".
Ghosn has never been short of a word or two to say, and this lecture on his innocence is must-see for anyone interested in the case. Nobody comes out of it well, unsurprisingly: the Japanese authorities, for a "corrupt and hostile" prosecution, his former colleagues for a "smear campaign" against him after 17 years at the head of Nissan, taking a "dead company" to profitability and recognition, or the media for how the case has been reported. That's before he discusses Japan as a whole, how as a gaijin - yes, he used the phrase we all know from Tokyo Drift - he has loved the country and become part of it, only for the public to turn its back on him after these accusations. It's going to make for quite the docu series.
As for the more serious matter of Ghosn fleeing Japan, Reuters is reporting that a 'red notice' has been issued by Interpol for his arrest, with authorities investigating how the heck he actually managed to pull it off. This amazing saga is not done yet, not by a long chalk. Expect more - quite a lot more, if that press conference was anything to go by - from Mr Ghosn, as well as those trying to track him down.
Conviction rates depend on volumes - for example, in the UK magistrates Court, the conviction rate is about 84% but this includes guilty pleas as well as trials and a quarter of failed trials are down to witnesses failing to appear.
I think there's a 50/50 here, my feeling is that yes he stretched the limits of what is acceptable use of corporate expenses and property (ego, power, folie de grandeur, etc.) but also that he was set up by whoever in Japan.
One utterly trivial thing that strikes me is that he appears to be wearing a crappy digital watch of the type bought from a petrol station in the mid 1990s. I know he has the reputation as 'le Cost Cutter' but that's not the watch you'd expect a millionaire car industry head honcho to wear - maybe he had to leave the Rolex in Tokyo...
If the Japanese prosecutor has such a strong case, one would think fruadulent behaviour is fairly easy to prove.
Fraud is all about covering up cash flows, falsification of ownership constructions etc. Large corporations have rigourous and layered measures of IC. Could also have been sun King behaviour: he might've felt untouchable, appropriating all kinds of company assets that did not belong to him. In hinsight also easy to prove one would think.
Whatever it is, the evidence lies in the underlying documents or falsification of such; the contracts with Ghosn, the cash flows, bank accounts, the proof of ownership of assets, the management decisions made, the signing off of MB decisions and minutes, the management board reports, the renumeration reports and evidence, the minutes of the superisory board.
Why the many, many months of interrogations ?, why the solitary confinement ? why the enduring procrastination of the Japanese prosecutor ?
It doesn't make much sense.
I think there's a 50/50 here, my feeling is that yes he stretched the limits of what is acceptable use of corporate expenses and property (ego, power, folie de grandeur, etc.) but also that he was set up by whoever in Japan.
One utterly trivial thing that strikes me is that he appears to be wearing a crappy digital watch of the type bought from a petrol station in the mid 1990s. I know he has the reputation as 'le Cost Cutter' but that's not the watch you'd expect a millionaire car industry head honcho to wear - maybe he had to leave the Rolex in Tokyo...
On the other hand you have the Japanese culture. Incomprehensible to Westerners. Perhaps he became too powerful, a danger to Japanese interests due to the merger with Renault. As he explained himself.
Japanese culture is incomprehensible in the way they undergo life and their fate.The japanese prosecution rate is shocking
(In Japan, the criminal justice system has a conviction rate that exceeds 99%, including guilty plea cases.[8] This has been attributed to low prosecutorial budgets impelling understaffed prosecutors to bring only the most obviously guilty defendants to trial.[9] However, international NGO Human Rights Watch claims that Japan's criminal justice practices, such as interrogating suspects without counsel or charge for up to 23 days, lead to wrongful convictions.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate#cite_note-10)
If... "overwhelming" is indeed the measure of the case.
This is not some unsolved murder case where the body has somehow, mysteriously disappeared, it's a fairly easy case of suspected fraud.
My point is, if there's truthfull evidence, if there's a probable suspicion the Japanese prosecutor doesn't need all these measures.
But... Fraud cases are actually quite difficult and long-winded. A tiny mistake on the prosecution's part can give wriggle-room to the defendant. But "solitary confinement"? Banned from seeing his wife? No electronic monitoring for a "flight-risk" on bail? This is a weird case indeed; and, Carlos Ghosn is still in a cage, albeit larger and more gilded.
Japanese culture is incomprehensible in the way they undergo life and their fate.
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