Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn: How he escaped Japan in a box

Carlos Ghosn knows how compelling his story is. Born in Brazil to Lebanese parents, he scaled the corporate ladder to the very top of global industry to be crowned head of Renault and Nissan, before suffering a spectacular downfall: arrested in Japan and, in a dramatic finale, escaping in a box to freedom in Beirut.

Before his arrest in 2018 on charges of concealing income, Ghosn ran a car manufacturing behemoth second only to Volkswagen in volume. His empire included France’s Renault and Japan’s Nissan, and he had masterminded a carmaking alliance that also took in Mitsubishi.

Ghosn was awaiting a trial in Tokyo under house arrest that was due to start in April 2020. Ghosn attended a pre-trial hearing in Tokyo’s district court on Christmas Day of 2019.

He was monitored by a 24-hour camera installed outside his house. His use of technology was heavily restricted and he was banned from travelling abroad.

On 29th December 2019, Ghosn left his Tokyo house to a near by hotel and he met with 2 men. The three then boarded a train to Osaka and went to a hotel near Kansai international airport. Few hours later Ghosn was transported in a music instrument box from the hotel to the airport by two men, who were posing as musicians.

A private jet was waiting for Ghosn at the airport and it flew through the night, swapped planes in Turkey before landing in Beirut the next morning.

Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan so Ghosn has been allowed to remain there.

However, Ghosn’s freedom has come at great cost to other people. Michael Taylor, American former special forces soldier and his son Peter were jailed in Japan for their part in helping Ghosn escape, as were two pilots and an airport official in Turkey, where the plane stopped en route to Lebanon.