crime

24-hour video on fugitive Ghosn checked only once a month

52 Comments
By YURI KAGEYAMA

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Electronic tethers common in the U.S. are not used in Japan for bail. Ghosn had offered to wear one when he requested bail.

Dude would have probably cut that off too. I can't believe how loose the police were especially with a supposed high profile criminal.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

It just get better, Nissan was spying on him and no one was reviewing the recordings....

23 ( +24 / -1 )

Although the security cameras at his home were on 24 hours, the footage was only required to be submitted to the court once a month, on the 15th, according to lawyers' documents detailing Ghosn's bail conditions.

And even then, it is unlikely that anyone from the court will review them unless they know what/when to look for. Its almost pointless having the

Hironaka told public broadcaster NHK TV late Friday that Ghosn had carried one of his French passports in a locked plastic case, so that it could be read without unlocking, in case he was stopped by authorities.

So he didn't have a Gaijin Card, like the rest of us, for identification purposes? Instead they let someone they thought could be a flight risk, walk around, un-monitored, with a valid international travel document in a flimsy clear plastic case? Wow!

14 ( +14 / -0 )

Pure comedy.

Ghosn probably didn't even have to do all that fancy subterfuge.

He could have probably walked right out of his home, took a taxi ride to the airport, booked a flight and flew a scheduled flight to Lebanon with Japanese officials none the wiser.

17 ( +18 / -1 )

This just keeps getting better and better

11 ( +12 / -1 )

InspectorGadget wrote Today 04:56 pm JST

So he didn't have a Gaijin Card, like the rest of us, for identification purposes? Instead they let someone they thought could be a flight risk, walk around, un-monitored, with a valid international travel document in a flimsy clear plastic case? Wow!

What do you mean with "the rest of us"? I don't have a "gaijin card" too. Well, not anymore, as it was replaced by "zairyu card"...

Also, not every foreigner in Japan gets a zairyu card, it depends on his status. That may well have been the case with Carlos Ghosn.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Pure comedy.

It is comedy from beginning.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

@ vallum

Agreed. We font know the circumstances under which Ghosn has been staying in Japan betide this debacle. A residence card is usually only issued if you stay in Japan for more than 3 months. For Ghosn, given how frequently he travelled, there's a high chance he never stayed in Japan for more than 3 months at a time, so his passport was enough.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

*don't

*before this debacle

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The biggest mystery is therefore how he managed to get out of Kansai airport. It does not seem plausible that he wandered through passport control - he is too high profile and his French passport would not have shown a landing card. But if not, how?

8 ( +8 / -0 )

I read earlier today that when he transferred from Istanbul to his flight to Beirut, it seems he went through the cargo area instead of border control. That could have been the same way he got out of Japan.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

I know it seemed silly at first, but more and more I'm getting the impression that it was porposely made easy for Ghosn to escape if he wanted to. But by whom and why?

5 ( +7 / -2 )

All foreigners in Japan are required to have their passports with them to show to police or other officials.

Not really accurate, is it?

7 ( +8 / -1 )

I read on the BBC an immigration officer at Kansai said "we never look at their faces they value their privacy". That's at the private jet area. So it would seem at every level there are security issues or none at all. Not following the rules can be beneficial.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

a private security company hired by Nissan Motor Co to keep watch over Ghosn stopped work.

Under who's order?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

omg! too much!!

3 ( +5 / -2 )

@reckless/sakurasuki

Agree totally, why is Nissan taking on the role of law enforcement?

If they were that worried about him on bail why didn’t they request perhaps reporting to his local police station daily? (That’s what happens here though maybe not under the Japanese system..)

Interesting to see how this pans out next week.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

24-hour video on fugitive Ghosn checked only once a month

Classic ketstome cops capers.

When is a surveillance camera not a surveillance camera? When it's only checked once a month, of course!

4 ( +6 / -2 )

private security company hired by Nissan Motor Co to keep watch over Ghosn 

How is this legal? Your employer should never legally be able to keep tabs on you. This should have been the job of the government that wants to prosecute him. Too much corporate power when a business has the legal right to do this.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

How can a conviction rate be "higher than 99%"? Why not just say flat out that the conviction rate is 100%? Of course, either figure is ludicrous. No wonder our man decided to escape, as he should.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

Wouldn't be surprised if an American ex military type is behind this farce...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

why is Nissan taking on the role of law enforcement?

They're not. Ghosn's legal problems don't end with his criminal case. He's also a defendant in a civil suit with Nissan to recover the millions that ended up in his Beruit holding company. Nissan want their money back and hiring a private investigator to keep tabs on a defendant is not unusual. Needless to say it's perfectly legal in Japan and elsewhere.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

He has been charged in Japan with underreporting his future compensation...

So his crime was not being an accurate prophet?

1 ( +5 / -4 )

"as a private security company hired by Nissan Motor Co to keep watch over Ghosn stopped work."

now, is that very unlucky this happened just at a critical moment in time? what a coincidence, people call me a cubicle old sod from time to time.

see through clear plastic box, private jet, detail flights plans, hire of a jet, come on, It looks like Gosan has played and bent the law to make his escape, I recon this has been orchestrated months ago.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"...private security company hired by Nissan Motor Co to keep watch over Ghosn."

So Nissan, the accuser, IS collaborating with the judiciary to monitor/control the suspect. The mind boggles. The Japanese politicians calling for a constitutional reform need to focus their energies on raising their legal system above the level of that of a banana republic.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

Nissan was worried the surveillance conditions set by the Japanese court weren't sufficient to keep tabs on Ghosn.

So what?!?! It's not Nissan's job, and if they were even consulted, it would just add to the collusion case that he has against them!

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Another embarrasment, sham, ridiculous, stupid over the top, under managed , over managed, under reported, over reported, pathetic event , non event, that should never have happened, but did because well you know, japan,, damn !! Its a crazy world we live in isnt it, its a even crazier world we live in when its japan we live in isnt it.

None the less Ghosn gets way throws lots to the wolves, takes the money, makes japan look like fools, laughs, sighs, scoffs, takes deep breathes and hopes it doesnt all come back on him. And if it does he will simply pay more money to throw more people under the bus

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Interesting how this man was handled. The truth will set him free.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Electronic tethers common in the U.S. are not used in Japan for bail. Ghosn had offered to wear one when he requested bail.

Facepalm.jpg

2 ( +3 / -1 )

His lawyer Junichiro Hironaka has complained that spying on his client was a violation of human rights,

Not the "right" of a rich conman to give the finger to the world ? I've heard on French media "Ghosn's done the gesture so much that he's getting a tennis elbow...".

Now Hironaka is finished, he will retire and probably his office won't survive and all his associates face hard times . Defending Ghosn, is one thing. But he didn't need to trust him. If I had a big client on bail, I'd organize his "monitoring" (spying if you want) to make sure he doesn't do anything in my back. Many lawyers do that. Zeirishis and CPAs keep an eye on clients too.

It does not seem plausible that he wandered through passport control

Ghosn has visited the airports so often with his jet that he knows all the possibilities, where they check and where they don't.

As I said in another thread, the access to KYK cargo and service zone is by road and distinct from the passenger area you know. On that other side of the island, there are warehouses, planes outside, it's not gated.. All checkings of persons if any, it's just one guy standing at arrival. Ghosn just had to pass in. He was helped by his pilots from there.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

JeffLeeToday 08:42 pm JST

So Nissan, the accuser, IS collaborating with the judiciary to monitor/control the suspect. The mind boggles. The Japanese politicians calling for a constitutional reform need to focus their energies on raising their legal system above the level of that of a banana republic.

I'll call this Self-Defense by the Victim after the State decided to prioritize the rights of poor poor Defendant over them.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Coskuri

In case you don't know pilots & crew for freighters DO NOT access their planes via the cargo areas at KIX NRT HND or anywhere else. They STILL have to go through immigration & Customs etc at a passenger terminal & then get shuttled to their aircraft, they DONT access their aircraft via warehouse\cargo areas at airports. only the cargo does!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

knuckleheads

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I read somewhere that when he transferred at Istanbul, he didn't go through immigration or customs. His plane landed on the tarmac and went straight to the hangar where another plane was waiting about 100m apart. He was supposed to walk to board the second plane to Beirut but it was raining heavily so he was picked up in a car that drove him for about 100m to board the,,2nd getaway plane to Beirut. The whole thing (landing and takeoff @Istanbul) lasted about 45minutes. Some accounts even say 30minutrs! If he had gone through immigration and Customs it would have taken much longer. The transfer was done on the tarmac or in the hangar leaving no footprint for official documentation.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Although the security cameras at his home were on 24 hours, the footage was only required to be submitted to the court once a month, on the 15th

That one made me split my sides laughing. You can't make this stuff up.

Records of his phone calls, internet use...

I thought he was forbidden to use the internet.

This interview with Carole Ghosn was in April last year but still relevant -

Ex-Nissan chief Ghosn’s wife: Carlos is innocent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PeT0e5gU3U

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I am slightly disappointed that he didn't dig his way out using nothing but a miniature rock hammer.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

All foreigners in Japan are required to have their passports with them to show to police or other officials. It is unclear whether the French passport is the one Ghosn used to enter Lebanon.

This is slightly incorrect, if for example you have a residence card you don't have to have your passport with you all time.

It baffles me as how the CEO (or former CEO) of a company in Japan, with owned home in Japan, does not have a residence card?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Also, not every foreigner in Japan gets a zairyu card, it depends on his status. That may well have been the case with Carlos Ghosn.

Besides government,military and temporary visitors and certain minors, which foreigners don't require zairyu cards? Which status would Ghosn fall under?

Even Zainichi Koreans and Chinese have special yellow zaiyu cards.

I can't imagine a situation where someone like Ghosn who was the CEO of Nissan for over 10 years, having a owned a residence in Tokyo was not required to have one?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

“private security company hired by Nissan Motor Co to keep watch over Ghosn stopped work.”

ive never worked for anyone in Japan but I have heard that if you work for someone they think they own you. This is overkill at proving said point, Japan WTF

1 ( +1 / -0 )

In case you don't know pilots & crew for freighters DO NOT access their planes via the cargo areas at KIX NRT HND or anywhere else. 

His pilots went through the immig' ,

 through immigration & Customs

For domestic zone, no. There is an ID check, passenger name lists that they check.

Or he flew from another Japanese airport and at arrival and he did not exit.

Either case, he is on a passenger list (fake ID with a fake moustache?). And some domestic flight he did not board should show an irregularity in passenger number.

they DONT access their aircraft via warehouse\cargo areas at airports.

I DID several times (yes, for cargo and I was just there to bring docs to pick/ship stuff, I usually don't travel in containers) . So Ghosn could access there like I did. The question was how he could get to the tarmac in KIX. I give you a possibility.

I don't care as personnally, I couldn't afford my private jet and my team of McGyvers.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I believe this situation was more or less an 暗黙の了解. The Japanese authorities at a top level made it easy for him to escape because they wanted him to escape. He got the hint and left. There is no other explanation for this.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Pitiful.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Ooops!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Ghosn plane left Kansai at 1110 JST, how did Ghosn get to Kansai,by train

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It baffles me as how the CEO (or former CEO) of a company in Japan, with owned home in Japan, does not have a residence card?

He did not necessarily need one it depends on his length of stay in Japan each year. Ghosn travelled the world frequently and had houses all over the world; he likely did not need a Residence Card.

You don't need a Residence Card to own a home or homes in Japan, same as most developed countries around the world.

Japan multinational bosses of his status and higher who are bouncing around the planet on a weekly basis often do not have Japanese residency. This includes Japanese persons, not just foreigners.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If I were Ghosn, I would have hired a private detectives to monitor and stalk the Nissan execs who ratted him out and the individual prosecutors working on the case. LOL.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Badge213 wrote Today 12:35 am JST

Besides government,military and temporary visitors and certain minors, which foreigners don't require zairyu cards? Which status would Ghosn fall under?

Even Zainichi Koreans and Chinese have special yellow zaiyu cards.

I can't imagine a situation where someone like Ghosn who was the CEO of Nissan for over 10 years, having a owned a residence in Tokyo was not required to have one?

According to the Immigration's website (http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_1/en/index.html):

(1) Persons granted permission to stay for 3 months or less

(2) Persons granted "Temporary Visitor" status

(3) Persons granted "Diplomat" or "Official" status

(4) Persons recognized by Ministry of Justice ordinance as equivalent to the foreign nationals in the aforementioned (1) to (3)*

(5) Special permanent residents

(6) Persons with no resident status**

0 ( +0 / -0 )

 I DID several times (yes, for cargo and I was just there to bring docs to pick/ship stuff, I usually don't travel in containers) . So Ghosn could access there like I did. The question was how he could get to the tarmac in KIX. I give you a possibility.

Coskuri, you accessed warehouses & offices in the cargo area but you didn't access any aircraft, one CAN access aircraft if they are doing some work related to the aircraft, maintenance, fueling, loading, unloading cargo etc BUT those people are NOT going to be on passenger manifests for any flights

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Vallum as I said, which status would Ghosn fallen under? For him not to have a residence card, assuming he didn't have one.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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