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Ghosn's first jail interview: I was the victim of 'plot and treason'

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn said Nissan executives opposed to his plans for closer ties with automaking partner Renault SA resorted to "plot and treason" to disrupt them and were behind the financial misconduct allegations against him. Speaking to the Nikkei newspaper in his first media interview since his arrest on Nov. 19, Ghosn said he had discussed plans to integrate the companies with Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa in September. But Nissan executives employed "plot and treason" to uproot those plans, Ghosn said. Ghosn, who spearheaded Nissan's turnaround two decades ago, had pushed for a deeper tie-up between Nissan and Renault, including possibly a full merger, despite strong reservations at the Japanese corporation. He remains in detention following his arrest and indictment on charges related to breach of trust and understating his salary. His arrest has clouded the outlook for closer ties between Nissan and Renault, along with Mitsubishi Motors Corp, the third member of the automaking alliance Since his arrest, Saikawa has said it was not the time to discuss revising the partners' complex capital ties. Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have dismissed Ghosn as chairman, while he has resigned from the helm at Renault. Ghosn denied accusations of improper payments to a company run by a Saudi businessman, saying the payment had been approved by a Nissan executive. Ghosn also called accusations by both Nissan and Mitsubishi that he received nearly 8 million euros in improper payment through a Dutch-based joint venture of the two automakers "a distortion of reality," and argued his luxury residences in Rio de Janeiro and Beirut were approved by Nissan's legal department. Nissan has said it was not aware that it had paid for many of Ghosn's properties. On Wednesday, a spokesman said that the company was unable to comment on Ghosn's legal defense. Ghosn, in the 20-minute interview, denied that his tenure at Nissan had been a "dictatorship." "People translated strong leadership to dictator, to distort reality" for the "purpose of getting rid of me," he said. Ghosn added that his health was fine, and that he wouldn't flee if freed on bail. Meanwhile, NHK reported that Saikawa plans to hold his first face-to-face discussion with new Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard on the sidelines of an alliance meeting in the Netherlands on Thursday.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lebanon gets Interpol fugitive notice for Carlos Ghosn as escape details emerge

BEIRUT — Lebanon's justice minister said Thursday that Lebanon has received an international wanted notice from Interpol for NissanÂ’s ex-chair Carlos Ghosn, four days after he fled Japan to Lebanon before a trial on financial misconduct charges. Albert Serhan told The Associated Press in an interview that the Red Notice for the former automotive titan was received earlier Thursday by the prosecution. Ghosn skipped bail before his much-anticipated trial, which was to start in April. He arrived in Lebanon, where he was raised after moving from Brazil as a young boy, on Monday via Turkey and hasn't been seen in public since. Authorities have said that he entered legally on a French passport. A plane carrying Ghosn arrived at 5:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) Monday at IstanbulÂ’s Ataturk Airport, Hurriyet reported, adding that prosecutors ordered the arrests after widening their investigation. Flight tracking data from that time suggests that Ghosn used two different planes to fly into Istanbul and then on to Lebanon. Japanese authorities allowed Ghosn to carry a spare French passport in a locked case while out on bail, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday, shedding some light on how he managed his escape to Lebanon. While some Lebanese media have floated a Houdini-like account of Ghosn being packed in a wooden container for musical instruments after a private concert in his home, his wife called the account “fiction” when contacted by Reuters. She declined to provide details of the exit of one of the most recognized titans of industry. The accounts of the two sources suggest a carefully planned escape known only to a few. They said a private security firm oversaw the plan, which involved shuttling Ghosn out via a private jet to Istanbul before pushing onward to Beirut, with even the pilot unaware of GhosnÂ’s presence on board. InterpolÂ’s so-called Red Notices are requests to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a wanted fugitive. Serhan, the minister, said the Lebanese prosecution “will carry out its duties,” suggesting for the first time that Ghosn may be brought in for questioning. But he said that Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition treaty, ruling out the possibility that Beirut would hand Ghosn over to Japan One sources who spoke with Reuters said Ghosn was greeted warmly by President Michel Aoun on Monday after flying into Beirut via Istanbul and was now in a buoyant and combative mood and felt secure.

Mitsubishi Concept GC-PHEV could hint at next-gen Montero [w/video]

In desperate need of some competitive new products, Mitsubishi showed up at the Tokyo Motor Show with three concept vehicles. The most important of them might just be this fullsize Concept GC-PHEV (Grand Cruiser). With its full-time four-wheel-drive system and roughly the right package size, we can only hope it hints at a future design for the Pajero/Montero.
Longer, taller and wider than the current Pajero (which is still offered in other markets), the Concept GC-PHEV is a big SUV with a fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid powertrain. A 335-horsepower, 3.0-liter supercharged V6 and an eight-speed automatic transmission are paired with a 94-hp electric motor and high-capacity battery to provide some serious brawn in a green wrapper. The result is targeted fuel consumption of 15 kilometers/liter on the Japanese cycle (around 35 miles per gallon) to go with an all-electric driving range of more than 25 miles.
Mitsubishi's styling team has arguably done a much better job with this Tokyo trio than we've seen from recent new products like the Outlander and Mirage, possibly suggesting a future design language for the automaker. In true concept car fashion, the design is Concept GC-PHEV is over the top, but it's not hard to imagine a vehicle of this size with similar cues gracing the Mitsubishi lineup at some point in the near future. Likewise, while the concept's interior only seats four, the sheer size of this vehicle could easily allow three rows of seats for a production model.