Defiant Ghosn pins hopes on French probes to clear his name

Fugitive ex-auto magnate Carlos Ghosn is campaigning to clear his name and hopes an upcoming hearing in Beirut with French investigators offers a chance to defend himself for the first time since his 2018 arrest in Japan

AP Interview Carlos Ghosn (Copyright 2021The Associated Press. All right reserved)

Fugitive ex-auto magnate Carlos Ghosn is campaigning to clear his name, and hopes an upcoming hearing in Beirut with French investigators will help him defend his version of events for the first time since his 2018 arrest in Japan

In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Ghosn addressed his legal troubles in Japan, France and the Netherlands his brazen escape, and his new reality in crisis-hit Lebanon.

The former chairman of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance said he felt empathy for those who are now jailed or on trial for helping him. They are “collateral damage” in a top-level Japanese campaign against him, he said.

He described his downfall, which sent shockwaves through the car industry, as like being “hit by a bus.”