Turkey charges manager, pilots involved in Ghosn escape
Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon, his childhood home, in December as he awaited trial on charges of underreporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies.
Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance speaks during a question and answer session organised by the Japan Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo. July 16, 2015
Turkish prosecutors on Thursday filed migrant-smuggling charges against the manager of a cargo company and pilots involved with helping former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn travel to Lebanon from Istanbul.
Ghosn had jumped bail in Japan in December last year to avoid facing trial on financial misconduct charges. His dramatic escape saw him fly from Tokyo to Istanbul and ultimately arrive in his native Lebanon.
The four pilots and the manager of the Istanbul-based MNG Holding were detained in January by authorities in Turkey. Prosecutors also charged the two hostesses on the plane with failure to report a crime.
Ghosn was smuggled out of Japan to his ancestral homeland late last year despite supposedly rigorous surveillance.
He had jumped a $14 million bail to evade charges of financial misconduct that could carry a jail sentence of up to 15 years.
Ghosn, who led Nissan for nearly 20 years, says he is innocent and that he fled Japan because he believed he could not get a fair trial there.
The former CEO of Nissan was arrested in Japan in late 2018 and is facing charges of underreporting income and breach of trust.
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