Dramatic downfall of ex-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn reverberates in Lebanon

In this May 11, 2012, file photo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Motor Co., Carlos Ghosn speaks during a press conference in Yokohama. (Koji Sasahara / AP)

BEIRUT -- He may have fallen from grace internationally as one of the auto industry's most powerful leaders, but Carlos Ghosn can count on continued support in at least one corner of the globe.

Lebanon has long held hopes that Ghosn, whose grandparents were Lebanese and who holds extensive development projects in the country, would play a bigger role in politics one day, or help rescue its increasingly sluggish economy.

But Ghosn, ex-chairman of Nissan Motor Co., was detained last month on allegations of underreporting his income, and on Friday, a Japanese court approved extending his detention for 10 more days.

Now, politicians across the board are mobilizing in his defence, with some suggesting his detention may be part of a political or business-motivated conspiracy, and the government even considering extraditing him from Tokyo to face trial here.

"To Carlos Ghosn in his predicament I say, a Lebanese phoenix will not be scorched by the Japanese sun," Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk said at a security conference in Beirut this week.

Lebanon, a tiny country of 4.5 million, takes excessive pride in its huge emigrant community and successful businessmen and celebrities of Lebanese heritage. They include Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim, Columbian singer Shakira, Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek, Lebanese-British barrister Amal Clooney and fashion designers Elie Saab and Reem Accra.

The Lebanese took special pride in the auto industry icon, who holds a Lebanese passport, speaks fluent Arabic and visits regularly, including a last visit right before he was detained in Tokyo. Born in Brazil, where his Lebanese grandfather had sought his fortune, Ghosn grew up in Beirut, where he spent part of his childhood at a Jesuit school.

As he began his ascent in the auto industry, first with Renault and then by bringing Nissan in Tokyo back from the brink of bankruptcy, Ghosn kept in touch with old friends. He married twice, first to a Lebanese woman who resides in Beirut and again in 2016 to Carole Nahas, also of Lebanese heritage.

As a Maronite Christian, Ghosn's name occasionally popped up as a possible candidate for the presidency, but he repeatedly dismissed suggestions he would run for office, saying he is not a politician. The post of president is reserved for a Christian in Lebanon's sectarian-based system of government.

Although the extent of his businesses in Lebanon is not known exactly, Ghosn has spoken in interviews about various real estate projects in the country and sits on the board of several universities, hospitals and charities. In 2012, he became a partner in the Lebanese winery IXSIR, and is a board member of family-owned Saradar Bank.

In 2017, the government honoured him with a special postage stamp -- a show of respect to a man considered a model of Lebanese entrepreneurial spirit.

So when news broke on Nov. 19 that Ghosn, 64, had been detained on allegations he underreported millions of dollars in income, and that Nissan is accusing him of using company money for personal gain, people in Lebanon were stunned -- and many were unconvinced.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil promptly issued a statement saying Lebanon would stand by Ghosn, adding he had asked the Lebanese ambassador to Tokyo to look out for "the model of Lebanese success abroad." The ambassador has since reportedly met three times with Ghosn -- who is being held in a small cell in the Japanese capital -- providing him with a mattress and food in the form of salmon, according to one report on a local TV channel.

Ghosn's dramatic downfall has sparked various conspiracy theories, with some claiming that his arrest was a U.S. ploy to punish him for resisting sanctions on Iran and others speculating it was an internal coup engineered by Nissan executives.

Melhem Riachi, the information minister, urged officials to intervene with the government of Japan, tweeting: "An investigation is extremely important. Something stinks."

Allegations against Ghosn reported in the Japanese media, but unconfirmed, suggest he spent Nissan funds on fancy homes in Paris, Beirut, Rio de Janeiro and Amsterdam, and on family vacations and other personal expenses. Ghosn has denied the allegations against him, saying he had no intention of underreporting his income, the reports say.

Ghosn's three-story property in one of Beirut's most prized real estate districts stands out for its pink walls and blue shuttered windows. The traditional old Lebanese house was acquired and renovated in 2014, according to neighbours who said they occasionally saw him visiting.

"He is a successful businessman with a good reputation ... he is not someone you would expect to be a cheat," said Rouba Rabah, who owns an art gallery opposite Ghosn's property.

Another neighbour who declined to give his name said he was stunned by the news like every other Lebanese would be, recalling how he would see Ghosn personally overseeing the renovation work four years ago.

Lebanese businessmen, many of them personal friends of Ghosn, have rallied around him, even after he was stripped of his title as chairman at Nissan and at Japanese partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

A group of Lebanese lawyers is now considering forming a team for his defence, and Justice Minister Salim Jreissati told Lebanon's daily An-Nahar that the government is considering asking Japan to extradite Ghosn to face trial on Lebanese soil.

Lawyer Amal Haddad told The Associated Press that she and the current head of the Lebanese Lawyers' Syndicate, Andree Chidiac, were considering the options. "That's all I can say until we are formally assigned the case," Haddad said.

In Ghosn's downfall, many here see a lost opportunity. The country's economy is struggling, with experts warning it is dangerously close to collapse after decades of mismanagement, corruption and nepotism.

Cabinet Minister Mouin Merhebi said that Ghosn's arrest is regrettable.

"He is an important personality, an economic personality we had hoped would one day play a role in Lebanese political life, a role to salvage Lebanon," he told the AP.

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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed.