Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn released from jail; bail set at 1bn yen
Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of car giant Nissan, has been released on bail after nearly four months in jail in Japan.
CAC 40
8,022.41
16:59 19/04/24
Mitsubishi Corporation
n/a
n/a
Renault
€47.73
17:19 19/04/24
Ghosn, who left the Tokyo detention centre on Wednesday wearing a blue baseball cap, glasses and surgical face mask, was required to post ¥1bn in bail and agree to a range of conditions to secure his freedom.
These include surrendering his three passports – Ghosn is French, was born in Brazil and is of Lebanese descent – and agreeing to stay in a residence in Tokyo, the entrance of which will be kept under camera surveillance.
Local media reports also said Ghosn’s legal team had agreed to restrictions being placed on his mobile phone and computer use.
Previous bail applications had been rejected on the grounds that he was a flight risk and that evidence was at risk of being tampered with. This was the third bail application put before the court.
Ghosn was arrested over alleged financial misconduct on 19 November after a lengthy internal investigation at Nissan. In a statement released through his lawyers on Tuesday, Ghosn said he was “totally committed to vigorously defending” himself against “meritless and unsubstantiated accusations”.
The trial is not expected to start until much later in the year.
Under Ghosn’s lengthy tenure at Nissan, he formed a ground-breaking alliance with Mitsubishi Motors and France’s Renault to create one of the world’s largest car groups. Since his arrest, Ghosn has been sacked by Nissan and has resigned from Renault, where he was chairman and chief executive.