The prosecutor’s office in Nanterre, near Paris, confirmed to CNN on Friday that it had issued an international arrest warrant for Ghosn, who now lives in Lebanon, and the owners of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, a distributor of Omani vehicles.
“The judge in charge of the case has issued five international arrest warrants against Mr. Carlos Ghosn and the current owners or former managers of the Omani company SBA,” a spokesperson for the prosecution said in a statement.
French media, including CNN affiliate BFMTV, reported that the warrant related to more than 15 million euros ($16.3 million) in alleged suspicious payments between Renault-Nissan and SBA.
The prosecutor’s office told CNN that the warrant covers many facts and “relates to chargeable offenses within the scope of the entire case currently under investigation.”
SBA did not respond to a request for comment outside of normal working hours.
Ghosn’s attorney, Jean Tamalet, a partner at King & Spalding, told CNN Business in a statement Friday that the retainer was “surprising.”
“The Nanterre investigating judge and prosecutor know perfectly well that Carlos Ghosn, who has always cooperated with French justice, is subject to a judicial ban on leaving Lebanese territory,” he said.
“We believe this decision is the only technical remedy they have found to be able to try the case in court in the future.”
In December 2019, while awaiting trial, Ghosn – who has French, Lebanese and Brazilian nationality – staged a stunning escape from Japan to Lebanon, a country where he spent time as a child. Lebanon does not extradite its citizens.
The former auto boss said he was ready to stand trial outside of Japan.
“Freedom, no matter how it comes, is always sweet,” he added.
