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Ghosn fled by bullet train, later moved from hotel in box: Reports

This article is more than 12 months old

TOKYO: New reports emerged yesterday on how former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn jumped bail in Japan.

The fugitive executive skipped bail nearly a week ago, fleeing Japan where he was awaiting trial on multiple counts of financial misconduct that he denies.

The details of his escape remain spotty, but public broadcaster NHK said yesterday that Ghosn, 65, left his residence by himself on the afternoon of Dec 29 and met two men at a Tokyo hotel. The three then boarded a Shinkansen bullet train together from Tokyo's Shinagawa station to a station in western Osaka, arriving around 7.30 pm.

The trio then checked in at a hotel near Kansai Airport, but only the two men accompanying Ghosn were caught on security camera leaving the hotel later in the evening, NHK said.

They were carrying "two big boxes" which were not checked by customs staff at the airport, the report added.

Mr Ghosn is believed to have taken a private jet from the airport that evening, bound for Istanbul, where he switched planes and continued to Beirut.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Ghosn was loaded onto the flight from Osaka in a large case for audio equipment, which was later found at the back of the cabin.

The newspaper cited unnamed sources close to the investigation in Turkey as saying that holes had been drilled into the bottom of the container to ensure he could breathe.

Japan's Transport Ministry told AFP that luggage checks are not mandatory for private jets.

"Operators of private jets decide if luggage checks are necessary or not while airline operators are obliged to conduct security checks under Japan's aviation law," a ministry official said.

"The security checks are carried out to prevent danger such as bombs, and to prevent hijacks," he said, adding such risks are considered less likely for private jets.

Ghosn, who has French, Brazilian and Lebanese nationalities, was able to enter Lebanon on a French passport, according to airport documents.

A court in Tokyo had allowed Ghosn to keep a second French passport as he needed one to travel inside Japan, a source close to the matter said. - AFP

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