BEIRUT/TOKYO (Reuters) - Carlos Ghosn’s lawyer said he was “very comfortable” with legal proceedings in Lebanon on Thursday, after the fugitive ex-Nissan boss was questioned over an extradition request from Japan where he faces financial misappropriation charges.
Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon, his childhood home, last month as he awaited trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies.
His dramatic escape has raised tension between Japan and Lebanon, where Ghosn slammed the Japanese justice system at a two-hour news conference on Wednesday, prompting Japan’s Justice Minister to launch a rare and forceful public response.
After questioning in Beirut about Japan’s Interpol warrant, two judicial sources said the prosecutor had imposed a travel ban, a step Carlos Abou Jaoude, a Beirut-based lawyer for Ghosn, described as procedural to broadcaster Al Jadeed.
Lebanon has no extradition agreement with Japan.
“He (Ghosn) is very comfortable with the path,” Jaoude told another broadcaster, MTV, adding that Ghosn was also comfortable in himself “especially after what he went through”.
Ghosn said later he was more comfortable with the Lebanese judiciary than that of Japan. “I will fully cooperate,” he told broadcaster LBCI.
He also said he did not want to put pressure on Japan-Lebanon bilateral ties, two days after Japan’s ambassador to Lebanon requested greater cooperation from President Michel Aoun in dealing in the case.
One of the judicial sources said authorities had asked Japan for its file on Ghosn, including the charges against him, and would not question him again until the information is received. Ghosn would surrender his French passport on Thursday, he said.
Japan’s Justice Minister Masako Mori said Ghosn’s allegations that he had had “zero chance” of a fair trial in
