A former titan of the global auto industry lay tucked inside a box on board a jet, waiting to depart Japan, at 10.30 p.m. on a frigid December night in 2019. “The plane was supposed to take off at 11 p.m.,” Carlos Ghosn recalls. “The 30 minutes I spent waiting in the plane’s box for it to take off was possibly the longest wait I’ve ever had in my life.” For the first time, the man who previously led both Nissan and Renault has revealed the details of his spectacular escape. Mr Ghosn discusses how he disguised himself to sneak unobserved through Tokyo’s streets, why a large music equipment box was chosen to transport him out of Japan, and the joy he felt when he eventually landed in Lebanon in an exclusive interview with the BBC. “The excitement was that I’d finally be able to tell the story,” he remarked. Mr Ghosn was arrested in November 2018 on suspicion of understating his annual pay and misusing corporate cash, which he denies. image courtesy of Getty Images Mr. Ghosn was the chairman of the Japanese automaker at the time. He was also the chairman of Renault in France, as well as the head of a three-way alliance involving both automakers and Mitsubishi. His cost-cutting at Nissan, which was first criticized, was eventually recognized as saving the company, and he became a well-known and respected personality. He believes, though, that he was “collateral damage” in Nissan’s fight back against Renault’s growing dominance, which still owns 43 percent of the Japanese firm. Carlos Ghosn: The Last Flight, a documentary series from Storyville, will air on BBC 4 on Wednesday, July 14th, and chronicles his amazing rise and unexpected collapse. ‘Shock, frozen trauma,’ says the narrator. “It’s like you’re getting struck by a bus or something truly extremely horrific occurred to you,” Mr Ghosn said of his detention at Toyko airport three years ago. “The only memory I have of this moment is shock, frozen horror,” he said. Mr. Ghosn was brought to the Tokyo Detention Centre, where he was placed in a cell and handed jail clothes. “All of a sudden, I had to learn to live without the watch, the internet, the telephone, the news, the pen – everything,” he explained. Mr Ghosn spent more than a year in detention or under house arrest in Tokyo after being released on bail. It was unclear when a trial would take place – fears were that it could take years – and Mr Ghosn faced an additional 15 years in prison if found guilty in a country where conviction rates are 99.4%. The Fall of the God of Automobiles, Carlos Ghosn When Mr Ghosn was told he wouldn’t be permitted to see his wife, Carole, during his house detention, he determined to find a way out. image courtesy of Getty Images “The concept was that I wouldn’t be able to show my face, so I’d have to hide somewhere,” he explained. “And the only way I could be hidden was if I was in a box or in luggage, where no one could see me, no one could recognize me, and the plan could work.” He claimed that adopting a huge box that would ordinarily hold musical instruments “was the most natural choice, especially given the abundance of concerts in Japan at the time.” But how can someone who was once famous – and is now infamous – in Japan travel from his house in the capital to an airport and flee? Mr Ghosn stated that the objective was to act as normally as possible on the day. “It should be a normal day where I go for a normal walk with normal clothes and a normal mindset, but everything changes all of a sudden.” Mr. Ghosn would have to ditch the suits he’d worn as a high-ranking leader in the global automobile industry for years in favor of something a little more relaxed. Consider a pair of slacks and a pair of sneakers. “As you can imagine, I had to go places I’d never visited before and buy clothes I’d never bought before,” he explained. “All of this was part of figuring out how to give yourself the best chance of succeeding while avoiding calling attention to yourself.” Mr Ghosn took the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka, where he boarded a private plane at the local airport. But first, there was the box, which Mr Ghosn had left at a neighboring hotel. “When you get into the box, you don’t think about the past or the future; you just focus about the present,” he explained. “You’re not terrified, and you’re not feeling anything except intense concentration on the fact that ‘this is your chance, and you can’t miss it.’ If you miss it, you’ll pay with your life, or the life of a Japanese captive.” Mr Ghosn was driven from the hotel to the airport by two guys posing as musicians, Michael and Peter Taylor, father and son. Mr Ghosn estimates that he was in the box for around an hour and a half, however it felt like a year and a half. Mr Ghosn, now free of his limitations, flew through the night, changing planes in Turkey, and landed in Beirut the next morning. Because Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition treaty, Mr Ghosn has been allowed to remain in Lebanon. However, Michael Taylor and his son, Peter, were deported to Japan by the US and now face three years in prison for assisting Mr Ghosn in his escape. Greg Kelly, Mr Ghosn’s former Nissan colleague, is also facing jail time after claims that he helped his former boss hide his earnings. He is currently under house arrest in Tokyo. Mr. Kelly disputes the allegations. What about the Japanese people who have been left behind? “I’ve been told that the end of [Greg Kelly’s] trial will probably be by the end of this year,” Mr Ghosn remarked. Then, as I already stated, only God knows what the outcome of this bogus trial will be.” “I feel sad for all the people who are victims of Japan’s hostage justice system, all of them,” he added. Outsider, outsider, outsider, outsider, outsider, outsider, outsider, outsider, outsider, outsider, outsider, outsider This world citizen, who is half-Lebanese and half-Brazilian, is all of these things. He acted more like a head of state than an executive. He held court with waiting staff costumed in pre-revolutionary garb at a company party at the Palace of Versailles, which happened to be on his 60th birthday, he claims. He was a lightning rod of anxiety for some at both companies as the simultaneous head of Renault and Nissan. Nissan executives were concerned that he would oversee a French takeover of the traditional Japanese business he had saved. Renault employees despised his defiance of the establishment and appearance in Paris society publications. Any worldwide top executive must be aware of political intricacies. Carlos Ghosn’s arrest in Tokyo came as a complete surprise after nearly 20 years at Nissan, indicating that he had lost touch with the organizations he was attempting to unite. His tale has it all: arrogance, corporate and global politics, and an action-adventure worthy of a Hollywood film. He claims he has been wronged more than he has sinned, and he is working with lawyers to clear his name. Until then, he’ll be a once-big fish in a small pond, living in exile in Beirut and under armed guard for the foreseeable future. In this extraordinary drama, this is not the ending he expected. On Storyville, you can watch the entire show. Carlos Ghosn: The Last Flight airs on BBC4 at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14th, or can be viewed afterwards on the BBC iPlayer. Renault Carlos Ghosn is the CEO of Nissan. Nissan is a car manufacturer./n
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