Japan issues arrest warrant for wife of Carlos Ghosn

Japanese authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the wife of Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s disgraced former chairman.

Prosecutors issued the warrant for Carole Ghosn for alleged perjury, after she was accused of making false statements to a Tokyo court in April.

A spokesperson for the family called the latest development "pathetic".

They told Reuters: "Last time Carlos Ghosn announced a press conference and got re-arrested. This time, the day before he is announced to speak out freely for the first time, they issued an arrest warrant for his wife, Carole Ghosn. The issuance of this warrant is pathetic."

Carlos Ghosn, 65, was arrested in November 2018 on financial misconduct charges. He was released in March 2019 under strict bail conditions, which included not seeing his wife. In April, he was re-arrested and detained for questioning for 10 days before once again being granted bail. But last month Ghosn fled Japan for the Lebanon, where the Brazilian-French Ghosn was raised, claiming Japan’s justice system was "rigged". Carole Ghosn is understood to be with him in Lebanon.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Nissan called Ghosn’s decision to skip bail "“extremely regrettable", adding that an internal investigation had provided "incontrovertible evidence of various acts of misconduct" by the fugitive.

It added: "The company will continue to take appropriate legal action to hold Ghosn accountable for the harm that his misconduct has caused to Nissan."

Details of Ghosn's escape, which continues to be investigated, remain unclear, although it has been reported he entered Lebanon on a French passport. He is due to give a press conference in Beirut on Wednesday.

Ghosn, a giant of the car industry, rescued Nissan from near collapse before going on to forge a powerful alliance between the Japanese car manufacturer and France’s Renault.