French magistrates question fugitive auto magnate in Beirut

Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has sat before French investigative judges in Beirut who questioned him for several hours over suspicions of financial misconduct

BEIRUT -- Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn sat before French investigative judges in Beirut who questioned him for several hours Monday over suspicions of financial misconduct. His defense lawyers called it “a very important day” for the auto magnate-turned-fugitive. The meeting marked the first opportunity for Ghosn to defend himself against the French allegations —- including spending on lavish parties and private planes — since his 2018 bombshell arrest in Japan and escape to Lebanon a year later. “It is an occasion that Mr. Ghosn has waited for a long time to show that the accusations brought against him are baseless,” Jean Yves Le Borgne, a member of Ghosn's defense team, told reporters in Beirut. He said the questioning was expected to last several days. The questioning at the Palace of Justice in Beirut lasted about six hours, including a lunch break. Ghosn did not make any comments to reporters and Lebanese security forces kept journalists away from the gate where he entered and exited the courthouse.