7, January 2020
Nissan Affair: Arrest warrant issued in Japan for Carlos Ghosn’s wife 0
Prosecutors in Japan on Tuesday obtained an arrest warrant for Carole Ghosn, wife of former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, who last month jumped bail and fled the country.
The warrant was issued as the fallout from the escape of one of Japan’s most high-profile criminal suspects continues, with authorities pledging tighter border controls and seizing the bail money that Ghosn forfeited by fleeing the country.
He had been facing trial in Japan on charges of financial misconduct, which he denies, before fleeing the country in late December for Lebanon, where he was reunited with his wife.
In a statement, prosecutors said they had obtained the warrant on suspicion that Carole Ghosn “made false statements” during April testimony to the Tokyo district court about meetings with an unnamed individual.
He had been freed on bail after agreeing to strict conditions, with prosecutors arguing he posed a flight risk.
The conditions included restrictions on contact with Carole, which was reportedly among the reasons he decided to jump bail and flee the country in an elaborately planned escape that has outraged Japanese officials.
– Elaborate escape plan –
Ghosn’s second wife, Carole vocally led the campaign for her husband’s freedom, insisting on his innocence and slamming Japanese prosecutors for what she deemed ill-treatment after his shock November 19, 2018 arrest.
She was initially prevented from seeing her husband, who was held in detention for more than 100 days after his arrest, and petitioned everyone from French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House in seeking his release.
Ghosn, a globe-trotting auto titan who was once a giant of the industry, accuses executives at Japanese automaker Nissan of manufacturing the allegations against him in a “plot” to prevent closer integration with alliance partner Renault.
The warrant for Carole’s arrest comes as Japanese authorities piece together how Ghosn was able to evade surveillance and airport security.
Snippets have emerged suggesting he was aided by a security expert, and took advantage of loopholes in security at Japan’s Kansai airport.
He appears to have left his residence in Tokyo, which was monitored by surveillance cameras under his bail conditions, alone. He reportedly later met up with two US citizens and boarded a bullet train to Osaka on December 29.
In Osaka, he is reported to have been put into a large box with holes drilled into it to ensure he could breathe and then loaded onto a private jet that flew to Istanbul.
Airport security rules meant large items loaded onto private planes were exempt from screening — a loophole that appears to have allowed Ghosn to escape unnoticed.
– Ghosn plans press conference –
In Istanbul he boarded a second private jet that took him to Lebanon, where he entered on a French passport.
Under his bail conditions, his French, Lebanese and Brazilian passports were confiscated and held by his lawyers.
But he was allowed to retain a second French passport — in a locked case with the key held by his lawyers — so he could prove his short-term visa status if needed when travelling in Japan — which was allowed in the terms of his bail.
His lawyers in Japan said they had no idea about Ghosn’s plans to escape, with his lead attorney saying he learned of the news from the media.
Interpol, the international police cooperation body, has issued a “red notice” for Carlos Ghosn’s arrest, but Beirut and Tokyo do not have an extradition treaty.
It was not immediately clear whether a similar notice would be issued for Carole Ghosn.
The shock arrest of the leading executive rocked the auto industry, where he was once a leading figure credited with turning around Nissan.
Ghosn alleges the case against him was manufactured by disgruntled Nissan executives and Japanese officials opposed to his plans to more closely integrate the firm with Renault.
He is due to give a press conference in Beirut on Wednesday, and has told Fox Business that he has “actual evidence” that will prove the charges were a plot against him.
Source: AFP
7, January 2020
Yaounde: Suspicion grows as Ambazonian defections increase 0
Thousands of Ambazonians are increasingly suspicious of Cameroon’s refugee return operation that has resulted in the return of some 87 refugees from Nigeria. On Tuesday, December 31, 2019, 87 refugees and former Ambazonian combatants living in Nigeria returned to Yaoundé on a special flight chartered by the Yaoundé government. Among the returning refugees were Success Nkongho and a self-styled General Namberee who has been talking like a parrot ever since he landed in Yaoundé.
On hand to welcome the seemingly desperate returnees and their children were several personalities of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate led by Paul Atanga Nji, the country’s territorial administration minister.
Speaking to the press upon arrival in Yaounde, Success Nkongho, the so-called spokesperson of the Southern Cameroons returning refugees said that “we are very proud to be here in Yaoundé. We are moved by the warm welcome. We did not expect it.”
Success Nkongho, a con-man who also doubles as an unsuccessful pastor, is known to have been working for the Yaoundé government in Nigeria, with several sources reporting that he had betrayed Southern Cameroons leaders who were kidnapped in Abuja, Nigeria, and returned to Yaounde in 2018.
He added that “I love Cameroon and I decided to commit myself to peace,” but many observers and close associates of Mr. Nkongho clearly indicate that he wants to use the peace process to whitewash his black image. He has been involved in many shady deals in the past and has robbed many people of their money through visa schemes that have left many poor and heart-broken.
It should be recalled that Mr. Success Nkongho has been seeking to have a foreign passport to protect himself ever since the Southern Cameroons crisis hit the international stage. He was in Abidjan, Cote d”Ivoire, in 2019 to see if he could obtain an Ivorian passport, but his efforts did not yield any results as the Ivorian system is computerized and Ivorian security systems have been refined over the years.
He has also contacted many people in the USA and Europe to see if he could have a way of leaving the African continent, but it seemed nature is not smiling at him. With many children and a wife, Mr. Nkongho could not have the possibility to take everybody abroad due to financial constraints. The peace process is therefore a possibility for him to walk away from the stress he has been experiencing in Nigeria.
The Yaoundé drama also witnessed a popular Ambazonian ex-combatant, General Nambere, expressing his gratitude to the 86-year-old dictator, Paul Biya, who has been in power for 37 years and has nothing to show for such a long stay in power. Namberee, a cash-strapped, desperate and ambitious illiterate also pledged to “work for a return to peace in the country.” Many analysts doubt his sincerity and have been asking if he has the means and possibility of achieving such a lofty goal.
It should be recalled that other Ambazonian fighters who laid down their arms were presented to the general public during the Major National Dialogue. They were on media shows in East Cameroon and some were even presented as national heroes on the state-owned Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV). Yaoundé has revealed that the total number of Ambazonian combatants who have laid down their arms stands between 2,000 and 3,000.
The official Yaoundé government position is that many of the Southern Cameroonian fighters who surrendered did so to save the peace, but the reality is a far cry from what the Yaounde government is presenting. Many of the so-called former fighters have received large sums of money from the Yaounde government and others had been paid to stage the comedy that has not convinced the international community.
Some of those fake former fighters have been killed and the government has left many to their own devices, making them vulnerable and even more desperate.
By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai