Japan issues arrest warrant for Carole Ghosn, wife of ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn

Carlos Ghosn was facing trial for financial misconduct before fleeing Japan for Lebanon in late December

Japanese prosecutors obtained a warrant against his wife, who is also in Lebanon, on suspicion she made false statements

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Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn and his wife Carole leave the office of his lawyer in Tokyo after his arrest in April 2019. Japanese prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for Carole. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:30pm, 7 Jan 2020Updated: 5:32pm, 7 Jan 2020

Prosecutors in Japan on Tuesday obtained an arrest warrant for Carole Ghosn, wife of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, who jumped bail and fled the country late last month.

In a statement, prosecutors said they had obtained the warrant on suspicion she made false statements during April testimony to the Tokyo district court about meetings with an unnamed individual.

Carlos Ghosn had been facing trial in Japan on charges of financial misconduct, which he denies, before fleeing the country in late December for Lebanon.

Carlos Ghosn and his wife Carole are seen at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2017. Photo: AFP

He had been freed on bail after agreeing to strict conditions, with prosecutors arguing he posed a flight risk.

The conditions included restrictions on contact with Carole, which was reportedly among the reasons he decided to jump bail and flee the country in an elaborately planned escape that has outraged Japanese officials.

Carole, Ghosn’s second wife, vocally led the campaign for her husband’s freedom, insisting on his innocence and slamming Japanese prosecutors for what she deemed ill-treatment after his shock November 19, 2018 arrest.