In the evening of Dec 30, 2019, when much of Japan was gearing down for the New Year’s holidays, a small team led by a former U.S. Special Forces soldier were quietly breaking former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn out of house arrest and helping him flee the country back to his home in Lebanon.
Prior to that, Ghosn had been under arrest for over a year, both in jail and then under house arrest, while he faced mounting charges, including under reporting his compensation and misuse of corporate funds for personal gain. He now still lives in Lebanon, where he cannot be extradited to Japan, maintaining that the indictment was a plot by other Nissan executives and his imprisonment was unjust.
Meanwhile, at Nissan, the removal of Ghosn led to several major restructuring plans facing a different direction from his aggressive form of high-volume sales. However, the plans have not been going well, and shareholders have been getting increasingly dissatisfied with the direction Nissan has been taking. This sentiment boiled over at a shareholder meeting on June 23, where outside director Motoo Nagai, a key person involved in the ousting of Ghosn in 2018, was denied reappointment in a vote. Some shareholders were reportedly also floating the idea of reinstalling Ghosn as CEO, though that was likely out of frustration rather than a feasible suggestion.
▼ One point of contention with Ghosn’s strategy was that Nissan should focus more on prestige signature models, like the GT-R.
News of this reached Ghosn, and in an interview with Reuters the following day, he said Nissan was in an emergency situation and that “tough decisions have to be made.” When asked if he would be willing to advise Nissan, he said that it would require a CEO position to fix things and: “If there is one person or one profile today who can make it happen, it’s mine. I’m not saying it because I’m arrogant. I’m saying it because of the facts. I’ve done it already once.”
He’s not wrong in saying the facts back him up. It was in 1999 that Ghosn arrived on the scene and brought Nissan back from the brink of bankruptcy, and as a result, he became a superstar in the Japanese business scene. He earned multiple accolades for his work, even snagging a Father of the Year award from a community group in 2001, a rare distinction allowing him to legally open carry a “#1 Dad” coffee mug.
But even with some shareholders calling for it, and Ghosn himself saying he’d be the man for the job, is there any possible way that he could go from being an exiled fugitive to Nissan CEO?
Readers of the news said in online comments that they doubt it, but would love to see him try.
“You’re eagerly awaited… by the police.”
“Oh yeah, hurry up and get over here.”
“Isn’t he the guy who turned Nissan into a company with nothing worth selling?”
“Ghosn gutted the company to make a quick buck. The management that came after him didn’t help either, though.”
“So, he wants to escape Lebanon now?”
“Will he come back in a musical instrument case?”
“Nissan probably would have been better off if they just kept letting him do whatever he was doing.”
“Nissan should just move their headquarters to Lebanon.”
Let’s assume Nissan did relocate to Lebanon, which would be rather ironic since the name literally means “Japan Industries.” Or, even more realistically, let’s say Ghosn somehow manages to whittle all the charges against him in Japan down to a suspended sentence. Stranger things have happened when mega-wealthy captains of industry are in legal trouble.
Let’s even say he also manages to slip out of getting extradited from Japan and put on trial in France, where he is wanted for a different matter of financial misconduct. Even after somehow evading all that, in 2019, Ghosn reached a settlement with the SEC in the U.S., part of which prohibited him from acting in any capacity as a CEO for 10 years. While that wouldn’t technically prevent him from becoming one in Japan or Lebanon, it still would be an additional nightmare to toss on the current pile of nightmares for Nissan if they hoped to do any business in the U.S. prior to 2029.
So, it’s clear to see the deck is heavily stacked against any chance of Carlos Ghosn’s return. But he does seem to have a knack for doing the impossible, so you never know.
Source: Jiji.com, Reuters, Japan Times, CNN, Itai News
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Which one is former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn? Japanese students surprised by test question
-- Carlos Ghosn leaves jail in workman cosplay, causes hilarious Twitter storm in Japan
-- Why do people spend so long in jail without going to trial in Japan?
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- https://soranews24.com/2026/06/29/international-fugitive-carlos-ghosn-says-hed-be-best-person-to-head-nissan-now/
9 Comments
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Vanillasludge
What a typical egomaniac, like most CEO’s.
Wasabi
When he was in charge, Nissan was doing well.
robert maes
He is absolutely correct
Lifer
Don't trivialize this matter via collegiate journalism.
Lazy.
WiseOneIn Kansai
He's a criminal and just greedy!!
There are two international arrest warrants for him, one from Japan and the other from France.
Oh yes, we keep hearing about hostage justice, but he was given preferential treatment in the end, he was allowed to walk outside and meet his family.
Because of his status in Japan, if he had stayed and attended his trial he would have gotten a slap on the hand suspension and paid a monetary penalty. He would quit Nissan / Renault and then would have been snapped up by a Chinese car maker with very very generous benefits.
But, he escaped like a criminal!! Everyone that helped him escape has served prison time!
How's life in Lebanon now? A far cry from the jet setting lifestyle he once had!
Meiyouwenti
He’d be put in prison the moment he set foot in Japan, Is he going to work from home in Lebanon?
Garthgoyle
Womp womp. They entrapped him on made up charges, arrested Kelly as well on made up charges. The Japanese involved saw 0 days behind bars, just bow and go on as usual. Then company went down.
They kind of deserve it.
quercetum
The Japanese police are not smart enough for Ghosn. He should be paid to work remote to resuscitate Nissan.
Five Families
When he was running Nissan. They were moving metal. This cannot be denied. Had his case gone to trial in another country other than Japan. He would have won. It was the Nissan board that deemed a crime was committed. Committed or Fabricated. We will never know.