Journalists gathering around unidentified visitors arriving at a house referenced by court documents as belonging to Ghosn in Beirut on Thursday. — AFP
ISTANBUL: Turkish police detained seven people, including four pilots, today in an investigation into how ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn transited through Istanbul en route to Lebanon after fleeing Japan, said a police spokesman.
She said the other detainees were two airport ground workers and one cargo worker and all seven were expected to give statements before a court today.
Media reports said Turkey’s interior ministry had begun an investigation into Ghosn’s transit. The former Nissan boss revealed on Tuesday he had fled to Beirut to escape what he called a “rigged” justice system.
People familiar with the matter said Ghosn, one of the world’s best-known executives, had arrived in Beirut on a private jet from Istanbul on Monday.
Hurriyet news website, citing an interior ministry official, said Turkish border police were not notified about Ghosn’s arrival, and neither his entry nor exit were registered.
Over in Tokyo, officials from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office have raided Ghosn's residence and carried away bags on the same day. — Kyodo/Reuters
A plane carrying Ghosn arrived at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) Monday at Istanbul’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.
The businessman, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, was smuggled out of Tokyo by a private security company days ago, the culmination of a plan that was crafted over three months, Reuters has reported.
Ghosn was first arrested in Tokyo in November 2018 and faces four charges, including hiding income and enriching himself through payments to car dealerships in the Middle East. He denies the charges.
