Ghosn, lawyer protest his rearrest; prosecutors confiscate Ghosn's wife's passport, mobile phone

Is there any doubt left that the Japanese "justice" system is a joke?

Confiscating the property of a person who is not under arrest or being charged with a crime?

Passport?  Can they do that?  Doesn't it belong to the country that issued it?

Don't care if Goshn is guilty.

BUT

I must agree with everyone, the actions of the prosecution team are disgusting. It might be time to get out of Japan?

Japanese executive suspects don't get treated like this.

What are the prosecution doing? This is crazy.

What is the French government doing to stop abuse of their citizens?

This guy has really got up someone's nose. He must know some BIG secrets that someone doesn't want found out!

Could anyone from the japan is blameless club explain how this is in any way legal if one's not charged with breaking any crimes? Will they lock her up next? What a disgrace!!

All this says is that someone is trying very, very hard to shut him up. There is something else going on here.

Well, I did comment a month ago when Ghosn was released on bail, that the prosecutors are now ten times twice as dangerous. They are wounded wolves.

What are Japans scared judges doing about this?

Carlos and Horie pissed off Japanese establishment, but Tepco chiefs who nearly killed us all who should be shot underwent no such treatment, not to mention Olympus and a whole host of others.

Sad to see these very low double standards. More is expected of this country.

Disgusting - whatever you think of Carlos. And surely illegal?!

Perhaps the plan is now to arrest her for failing to carry her passport.....

Uh oh, sounds like Mrs Ghosn could be implicated here. If she allowed her husband to use her mobile while under bail conditions she could become an accomplice for violation of bail. If this is the case seizing her passport makes sense. Needless to say, this is shaping up to be one of the trials of our time

Dont you think they would have arrested her as well if this were the case? I'm positive they have been monitoring all family members phone records, they don't need to check the actual phone to see if Ghosn had been using it.

Prosecutors are intent on shutting down any narrative that doesn't match their version. Taking the phone seems pathetic as a new phone is around the corner a vindictive action, the passport? She is as of now not charged with anything? Nor has she worked for Nissan so why confiscate her passport? This reakes of vindictiveness and desperation not justice. Never never put yourself close to Japanese justice not just you but your family will suffer that's the message.

oh this definitely reeks of prosecutor desperation... they probably want to try and play "we gonna arrest her if you not gonna admit to everything we want " game... never thought they would go that low with such high profile though quite interesting how this is going to play out .

Sounds to me like they don't want him available to make any public statements on April 11th.

This has become quite a farce and does not make Japan look good on the world stage. I don’t have much confidence in that system and I work in the field here.

Regardless of where the posters on this forum sit on this debate (and it appears there are many on both sides) take a close look at what is happening and ask yourself is this reasonable and justified in the circumstances? If this was you how would you react?

The phone I can understand; Mr. could have used Mrs.’ to send emails, etc. However, her passport? Do they figure that she is being used as an “evidence mule” or something?

CameronToday  04:24 pm JST

The phone I can understand; Mr. could have used Mrs.’ to send emails, etc. 

Communication between a wife and a husband is supposed to be legally privileged -- just as communication between a lawyer and client, a doctor and patient, a priest and a person confessing sins, and so on.

That's how it is supposed to be in civilized countries, anyway.

I'm not speaking to Ghosn's innocence or guilt here. If he is truly guilty, then he should be punished accordingly.

But the way Japanese prosecutors and courts treat accused defendants is the issue here. It leaves much to be desired.

Yet again Japan shows its legal system is on a par with the most oppressive regimes across the globe.

Geeliz 

Who knows, maybe they have records of her phone being used in ways that would violate the bail conditions and they need the actual phone to cement that evidence, particularly seeing as this entire saga is being scrutinized so heavily (ie. 2 sources of hard evidence would implicate whoever was using the phone, that being either Mr or Mrs Ghosn). 

@Ricky Kaminski13 - This would seem to be the most highly probable justification for the dramatic re-arrest. 

However, if this were so, the accusation should be made to her and to Ghosn. It should also be made public. Taking her phone and passport with no accusation is a clear breech of civil rights. I’m quite sure this new arrest is going to backfire on the prosecutors.

Mrs Ghosn is now prohibited from leaving the country even though she has not been charged with any crime. I believe this is called kidnapping.

To show just how ridiculous the J prosecutors were with this rearrest:

[From the NY Times]

The authorities knocked on Carlos Ghosn’s door just before 6 a.m. He and his wife, Carole Ghosn, were still in their pajamas.

Within minutes, more than a dozen people swarmed into their Tokyo apartment. They took Mrs. Ghosn’s phones, her passport, her diary and the letters she had written to her husband while he was in jail. A woman from the prosecutors’ office followed Mrs. Ghosn into the bathroom. When she stepped out of the shower, the woman handed her a towel.

They also handed Mrs. Ghosn papers and told her to sign them, she said. The papers were in Japanese, a language she can’t read.

“They didn’t push me around, but they wanted to humiliate me and my husband,” Mrs. Ghosn said in an interview on Thursday, hours after her husband, once of the auto industry’s most powerful leaders, was arrested for the fourth time.

“I was treated like a terrorist,” she said, “like I had a bomb on me.”

Prosecutors defended their actions. Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said at a news conference on Thursday that prosecutors had judged that Mr. Ghosn could tamper with evidence and had become a flight risk as a result of the new charges.

Even in Japan, where prosecutors have broad authority to detain and question suspects without a lawyer present, the arrest of Mr. Ghosn while he was out on bail surprised legal experts. To grant Mr. Ghosn bail, a court would have already deemed him to be an unlikely flight risk, said Stephen Givens, an American corporate lawyer in Tokyo. That, combined with confiscating Mrs. Ghosn’s cellphone and passport, constituted “a real abuse,” he said.

[End NY Times Article extract]

The J prosecutors don't care about justice. They only care about winning and they are not used to being challenged!!

They are seething with anger at Ghosn making then look bad, so they are determined to destroy him, no matter what they have to do.

These people are monsters... Confiscation of the wife's passport is going to put Japan in a heap of trouble, unless they are prosecuting her too (and they aren't).

TOTAL nonsense, this arrest shows that Nissan's dirty secrets will come out in a trail. Gambatte Carlos.

It's actually legal to seize a foreign passport, however considering she's done nothing wrong, and Japan's justice system is already being incredibly scrutinized, its not going to look good for them nor the useless prosecution team heading the investigation.

How do you think this case will affect foreigners trust with the Japanese, especially if Ghosn ends up acquitted? I personally think most Japanese companies are completely legit and safe to work with, but you never know...

This is just another pathetic attempt to hold him in solitary confinement with only communication with his lawyer for an hour a day while they grill him constantly without his lawyer present in order to force a confession. The Japanese prosecutors must be seriously hopeless if this is the only way they can get a conviction. And, what's with taking his wife's phone? She is not a suspect. That is a breech of basic civil rights. Just absolutely pathetic!

What justifies confiscation of his spouse’s passport and cell phone?

I have to believe that the French government is probably extremely angry right now and is having words with the Japanese government.

The actions in relation to Ghosn are one thing, given that he has been arrested.

However, for the J prosecutors to take Mrs. Ghosn's passport when she has not been detained, has not been charged with anything and has not been arrested is a violation of all sorts of diplomatic protocols!!

This is not going to end well for Japan.

While she may not have been charged with anything, they have said that the new allegations were surrounding payments to a company that his wife works at. So this may be in connection to that. It also means his son should stay out of Japan.

One step forward, ten steps back. Seems they just cant help themselves. Once again, there's no cure for stupid, especially the debilitating collective stupid. Welcome to J justice, with Chinese characteristics. Really disappointing to start a new era this way. Just lame.

Several other news and official sources in France report she IS a suspect (not guilty until... ). 

No she is not. No charge has ever been put on her. None.

Japan's legal justice system is stuck in the 19th's century.

Hold them indefinitely until they confess, the Japanese way of justice.

Be optimistic, guys, don't cry for Ghosn. He and his wife might be on bail, soon.

some people are just not programmed correctly, its not about whether Ghosn is guilty or innocent, its the system and how they treat innocent people, yes INNOCENT!, basic human rights in a democratic country give the presumption on innocence until proven guilty in court. There is nothing just about imprisioning people indefinitely when they haven't even been found guilty of a crime. Accusations does not equal guilt, not until undeniable evidence is presented to a judge or jury to decide. Prosecutors , the media, gullible followers, dont have the power to declare a person guilty, why is it so hard for people to get that into their thick heads!

Prosecutors and Saikawa desperate and at the end of their tether. Ghosn must not be free to make statements in public. It would upset the wa of Naruhito's ascention May 1st.

Where is the foreign outcry? I can’t understand the international community silence. We’re not talking of a third world government, but a democracy. As someone said, what goes around, comes around. I real hope the prosecutors have a good handle on what they're doing. International silence is deafening. I don’t see the end of this dark tunnel.

The wife can protest the passport seizure as it's the property of another government. France? Brazil? Unless she's charged with a crime they can't do that. They can't

This is just bullying the family and the legal system of law is officially a joke

The "new" charges are from 2015. This should not have led to a re-arrest. If prosecutors overlooked that 2015 info, that's on the prosecutors, not the defendant.

If the prosecutors don't intend to charge Ghosn's wife with anything...and even worse if this passport business is a way to pressure Ghosn mentally, to confess, then the prosecutors don't know their man. They just look stupid. Hell, they look like Chinese prosecutors.

Gunshot to foot, big-time!

This case will only deter foreigners from becoming a CEO of a Japanese firm. Is that the intention?

yes it probably is, rid Japanese companies of the pesky gaijin, all part of the agenda for more nationalism and who knows what else when the constiution is changed.

It's pretty obvious now that they are trying to silence him.

AND what does the UN 'Human Rights' does? Nothing because we are a large donor.

French? Oh nothing, sitting on their hands, because they and the UN dictate 'democracy' to other countries but don't enforce it when the hands that funds them is doing the dirty deeds..

Where is our humans rights?? What is the American constitution written for us post WW2 even mean, or has a meaning?

This is no longer about whether Ghosn did right or wrong, it's about the way the Japanese Judicial System works.

Forced confessions, prolonged detentions, etc... is Japan vying with China for who has the least fair Judiciary ?

Told you! He announced yesterday he was going to speak about the company on Monday and BOOM rearrested today. And he will NOT be let out again until he confesses to something and is not allowed to ACTUALLY confess what was going on in the company.

This kind of thing is why Japan ranks worst in human rights violations of G7 nations and then some.

So what's new?

Japan Inc., the People's Republic of Japan, the Corporate State of Japan, the Japanese legal system ... whatever you want to call it ... has NEVER guaranteed individuals to a free and open trial, or even a forum for self defense.

Might makes right.

The way things are done in Japan, from Meiji-era onward, has always been weighted on the side of institutions, or as Chomsky would call it, concentrations of power.

Both legal reasoning and the argument for 'tradition' can be traced back to early Meiji-era machinations, as pointed out by Stephen Vlastos in his book (written with the help of Japanese academics), 'Mirror of Modernity'.

The only difference from my perspective is Ghosn's high-profile case is 'news worthy'.

Mine is not.

The whole story is already a disaster for the image of Japan in France, since Gohsn's arrest and the unacceptable, shameful and brutal treatment he endured at the hands of the prosecutors . Even more with his being re-arrested in these circumstances, obviously in view of preventing his speaking to the press. The whole press in France is commenting the unbelievable extend of economical nationalism of the japanese government... Just wait until the news concerning Mrs Gohsn hits the fan!

 If they had records that her phone was used in a way that violated his bail conditions, or possibly even tied to these new charges or something

Ghosn was arrested for new allegations concerning money transfer so the bail has nothing to do here unless the prosecutors are plain liars. And anyway, his wife is not charged for anything, therefore she is not a suspect, therefore there is no legal basis to confiscate her phone and her passport. Period.

The prosecutors should be arrested for the theft of Ghosn's wife's passport and mobile phone. She is not a suspect and they have no right to steal her possessions. I hope the French government makes a protest about this terrible behaviour.

It would be interesting to see Mrs. Ghosn’s home country decide to make her a diplomat ...

My god just when you think the prosecutors and japan can't become anymore disgusting, this happens. The prosecutors have illegally stolen Mrs Ghosn's possessions and so her lawyer should immediately issue a massive lawsuit against these so called "prosecutors". She is not a suspect and has not been charged with anything.

In any case she should either somehow get out of the god forsaken country or take refuge in the French Embassy. The prosecutors are probably planning to throw her in prison for nothing just like Ghosn.

This country expects goodwill from the Olympics next year, well they have just destroyed it. This case is now going around the world.

Hope it's true that Ghosn has already recorded his April 11th speech. Just screw the "prosecutors"

Yesterday he tweeted he will be telling the trust shortly...... Not what the Japanese are famous for or inclined to do very often. Carlos has some big info that jinc dont want getting out.... at what cost is the question.

FREE CARLOS!!!

People wake up, this is about changing our corrupt system, run by people who destroy the fabric of our nation. People living here, I urge you to contact foreign media and others to shine a light more on this corrupt bias that is our system, Saikawa the crook and other conspirators at play.

We should really rally outside the detention center. This affects both foreign residents and Japanese too.

Do you know how many Japanese are arrested for crimes they didn't commit? As some have pointed out the '99% conviction rate' that's right, nothing will change post Olympics with scapegoat after scapegoat our politicians will play. They also are exotorting Carlos family for more bail money. Saikawa is still at the helm to destroy this great big alliance Carlos built which is not only great for our economy but creates a behemoth of a multi car company like GM. Saikawa wants to destroy this and defame this man who shook up our lagging business industries. Please I urge you to make a difference now and contact journalists abroad and also on social media and to form a protest outside the detention center! Together let's make a difference for a true Reiwa friends!

On bail and re-arrested at 6:00 AM with 10th of journalists and NHK waiting for shooting the scene.

Wife's passport confiscated: another lure trap?

What a joke bad movie is that?

Even Yakuza look more honorable than this bunch of prosecutors.

UGLY!

Uh oh, sounds like Mrs Ghosn could be implicated here. If she allowed her husband to use her mobile while under bail conditions she could become an accomplice for violation of bail. 

How could they prove that anyway? Did they have it on camera because a phone doesnt leave a history of who is using it. I call this busted. Even if that's what the prosecutors are after.

I honestly have no words left for this......

Why did he have to announce it on twitter though? That's his biggest mistake. That was so unnecessary. He could have made a video, or held an unanounced press conference or something.

Only one word comes to mind:

DISGUSTING

Read on japantimes one lawyer trying all his might defending their system. There’s nothing to defend here. It’s broken, disgusting, worse than China. They’re still trying to convince themselves otherwise, and they’re fooling only themselves. I love Japan, but this part of it is plain DISGUSTING.

Uh oh, sounds like Mrs Ghosn could be implicated here. If she allowed her husband to use her mobile while under bail conditions she could become an accomplice for violation of bail. If this is the case seizing her passport makes sense. Needless to say, this is shaping up to be one of the trials of our time

AGAIN only a couple of reports so far point toward this as a POSSIBLE explanation

No no this is not a possible explanation. Either she is a suspect or she is not. Penal law is a precise matter not something that can be interpreted somehow and at will. Japanese prosecutors (and Nissan) have at any point indicated that she is involved in any of the allegations against Ghosn and therefore they have not indicated at any point that she is a suspect, So they have no legal basis to confiscate any of their belongings let alone her passport. Because taking her passport by definition implies that they confine her in Japan and prevent her from her free movement. On what legal basis?

Mr.Ghosn should be due before a judge soon (within 48 hours of arrest).

Let's all see what this judge will do.

The actions of the prosecutors are illegal in taking Mrs Ghosn's phone and passport. They have just opened themselves to legal action. The French government will surely protest most strongly about this illegal confiscation of her passport. I see a major diplomatic incident in the offing. Honestly these prosecutors come over as so pathetic.

 I personally think most Japanese companies are completely legit and safe to work with, but you never know...

You can't possibly be serious.

Unacceptable to take Wife's Passport and Phone.

I'm taking action with my Wallet and will never buy anything from Nissan, I don't want to line the pockets of those so untrustworthy.

Nissan workers if they cared would probably be voting to go on Strike too... but that would be unheard of here in Japan. At least I will do my bit.

I can't believe they took his wife's passport. No wait, I do believe it.

I hope Horiemon can join a protest too outside the detention center. Many people are zombies to the media here and believe the sky is pink if the news states that. We need a United force to change our corrupt system

One must never immediately believe any media report that is getting information from unnamed sources. Everything must be qualified until you get confirmation from multiple credible sources. But there is one possible UNCONFIRMED explanation for the passport of Mrs. Ghosn being turned over. NHK has one report today that says that the $5M that got pushed into a bogus Lebanon company tied to Mr. Ghosn and part of that sum was then used by MRS, Ghosn to buy their family yacht and some of the funds went to a company owned by Mr. Ghosn's son. IF Prosecutors have any evidence that is accurate then she might in fact be under investigation now. AGAIN only a couple of reports so far point toward this as a POSSIBLE explanation. Japanese authorities do NOT require foreign nationals to turn over their passports regardless of whether their spouse is indicted. So we will hear that the passport was requested by mistake and immediately returned or we will learn why they pulled it.

Dont you think they would have arrested her as well if this were the case? I'm positive they have been monitoring all family members phone records, they don't need to check the actual phone to see if Ghosn had been using it.

Who knows, maybe they have records of her phone being used in ways that would violate the bail conditions and they need the actual phone to cement that evidence, particularly seeing as this entire saga is being scrutinized so heavily (ie. 2 sources of hard evidence would implicate whoever was using the phone, that being either Mr or Mrs Ghosn). Perhaps just having police surveillance records on the prosecution side is not enough to convict here; although I have heard cases in the US where mobile metadata (call summaries and locations) has been enough to convict in the US

Anyway, this is all speculation so we shouldn't jump to any conclusions and wait for more detailed info

they don't want him available to make any public statements on April 11th.

He made his public statement yesterday on French TV (LCI-TF1). It's empty. He just repeats "I am victim of a plot".

Passport was illegally seized. Wife should immediately go to her embassy and get emergency papers and get out

The cold truth is that there is a certain type of power broker and person that will be delighted with this latest developement. Taking the fight to this next absurd level will be a sense of pride for them. Totally lacking of a moral compass or sophistication, vengeful, hard willed and bitter. They would take pleasure in reading each and every one of the comments above, not pain; as those that wrote it are not welcome here anyway. After all this is THEIR country and they write their own rules. Either like everything about Japan, keep your mouth shut or get out. This is also a common sentiment in another powerful neighboring country.

They don’t by any means speak for the majority of Japanese people ( yet, yikes ) but they do hold a lot of power and influence. This has been demonstrated here for all to see. And us , the ex pat community, all excited and hopeful of the new Era about to start? It seems the old guard are digging even deeper, longing for the old ways and overly romanticizing a past that never really existed. It’s a psychological phenomena. What do they say about power corrupts?

Once again, what a movie this is going to make. Watershed moment. Still think this all will help japan shed its skin in the long run. Ghosn , what a destiny you have made for yourself! Stay strong.

Prosecutors and Saikawa desperate and at the end of their tether. Ghosn must not be free to make statements in public. It would upset the wa of Naruhito's ascention May 1st.

Public statement or not, this is now viral. (International).

Not a happy ending for Hiesei (Achieve peace) and not a good start for Reiwa (Harmonious Peace).

What happens to his bail money? Will he have to pay again each time they think of something else to arrest him with?

Even Yakuza look more honorable than this bunch of prosecutors.

Absolutely. Prosecutors are supposed to be guardians of the people, not enemies of the people.

What is the French government doing to stop abuse of their citizens?

They have started an audit of Renault and RNVB. Yesterday, they have sent a file of findings to prosecutors in Tokyo. French justice can ask Ghosn's extradition after he's done with his first trials in Japan.

This is getting too complicated. This probably isn't just about Ghosn now but also Hironaka. Hironaka has beat the J prosecutors at their game twice I think - winning two other cases. This may just be a grudge match to also make sure that they don't lose to Hironaka again.

They probably suspected the possibility of a rearrest, which is why they would pre-tape the announcement. Speaking of dirty laundry, every organization and some of the people within it will have dirt. Might as well let it fly, go all in. Even if the public won't care, I'm sure shareholders would love to know what is really going on inside.

If the prosecutors find a way to shut down that video... well, we all know what's what.

Ok so is anyone still defending Japan in this circus? I bet we won't see for this news the same people we saw early today on another Japantoday thread defending Japan with absurd arguments because precisely it has become very difficult for them to do so at this point.

The kind of scenario you'd expect from an All Capon setting. Certainly not from an Elliot Ness types.

 but I suspect they have phone usage metadata for most phones in the country (as does likely all countries). 

By the way, unless you come up with some solid explanation on what you mean, the above makes little sense.

Geeliz

Who knows, maybe they have records of her phone being used in ways that would violate the bail conditions and they need the actual phone to cement that evidence, particularly seeing as this entire saga is being scrutinized so heavily (ie. 2 sources of hard evidence would implicate whoever was using the phone, that being either Mr or Mrs Ghosn).

This would seem to be the most highly probable justification for the dramatic re-arrest. Not the biggest reason of course, as that would be to silence Ghosn, but the justification for it. Just hurts to watch the prosecutors damage Japans image in such ways. Self inflicted harm. It really is the middle finger to western legal standards, not even a subtle one at that. ;(

Perhaps his tweet that he will tell the truth was enough impetus to rearrest him in an effort to do what they usually do to make a person confess, regardless of their innocence.

what is wrong with french government not stepping up to its citizens? money? stand by with nissan

because of profit? disgusting.

to protect human right - boycott nissan.

Arrested on suspicion only, no evidence, just suspicion.

Pathetic prosecutors.

"ascension"

"His wife is not a suspect

Several other news and official sources in France report she IS a suspect (not guilty until... ). She is the owner of a company that is suspected of receiving tens of millions $$ from Nissan and Renault (via Oman distributor). That said, it is not impossible that she had no idea she owned a business before reading French news yesterday.

Japan will reap what it sows. A country that’s basically bankrupt has nothing to lose except face. When that’s gone there’s nothing left. Enter the new saviors, China.

Al Capone not All capon.

On a TV news channel I heard that his April 11th press conference speech has been recorded and will be released as scheduled by his lawyer on that date.

As for husband-wife conversations being privileged, I don't know if that is true for Japan.  Maybe they want to be sure that she is here in Japan for the trial, and for possible arrest.  Maybe she should have another one issued, since the first one was stolen, and leave now.  After all, she won't be seeing her husband for some time anyway.  If she tried to leave tomorrow, they might be forced to arrest her - or failing to have sufficient cause at this time, let her go home.

Time to make it official and have Prime Minister Abe appoint Saikawa as Ministry of Nissan. How did one corporation--albeit a very big one--gain such leverage over Japan's law enforcement authorities?

This is confirmation that the Japanese police just make up the rules as they go along when it comes to foreigners and rights. Was probably naive to hope for anything different. Mrs Ghosn should apply for a new passport I guess. You can get them in a few days. If I was her I would get out quickly before she is locked up for a few months without trial too.

Says here she used her US passport to fly to France on Friday the Japanese police only took her Lebanese passport https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2019-04-06/carlos-ghosns-wife-says-french-government-should-do-more-for-ex-nissan-boss-ft

He is vehemently denying the charges and has stated he looks forward to his day in court. If he was guilty as sin then he might, just might, not be as vocal?

Just hope he gets a fair trial and not a trial by media/Nissan (which is not impartial anyway)….

What is Nissan prosecution trying to do? Trying to recover more money?? So they had no problem going into joint venture in 1999 and receiving money to save company and now it's a smear campaign for "unethical practices" for the man who brought Nissan from falling into abyss? This is a good warning to other foreign companies to not throw a life-line or go into joint alliance with any failing Japanese company. Might as well wait until the company goes bankrupt and take total control of management and operation.

How could they prove that anyway? Did they have it on camera because a phone doesnt leave a history of who is using it. I call this busted. Even if that's what the prosecutors are after.

I don't know what sort of data the police have on phone usage, but I suspect they have phone usage metadata for most phones in the country (as does likely all countries). If they had records that her phone was used in a way that violated his bail conditions, or possibly even tied to these new charges or something, then that could be grounds for confiscation to prove that the phone was used in that way that could lead to charges, which I would say is a reasonable move. This is obviously hypothetical, but then the question would be who exactly used the phone in that way.

the snake "expressed surprise of the arrest", what a hypocrite. like we all have no brains but to believe his act.

this low life should be in jail as well.

"seized the cell phone and passport of Ghosn's wife", jurisdiction system in japan is really shameless.

what a barbaric way, she is not even criminal, prosecutors are really out of their mind, a bunch of loser tried

to save their face thus human right is in hell.

For a man who is ostensibly very clever he seems to be doing some very silly things and has now implicated his Wife. All very strange.

Not sure to make of this yet. Again, reacting to media reports until they are fully vetted and confirmed is a risky exercise. But Wall Street Journal is reporting the Renault BOD itself has turned over a portion of its ongoing internal investigation to French Prosecutors and calling out ethical violations and potential misuse of millions of Euros of company funds and reserving the right to bring these claims to court against Mr. Ghosn. No one outside the Tokyo Prosecutors Office and now the French Prosecutors Office has access to all of the facts on any single claim so leaping to conclusions on guilt and innocence, strength of a case on any given charges, and even who is a suspect or not is like jumping from a plane without a parachute.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/renault-board-says-probe-finds-questionable-expenses-11554306405?tesla=y&mod=article_inline

Be optimistic, guys, don't cry for Ghosn. He and his wife might be on bail, soon.

The "new" charges are from 2015. This should not have led to a re-arrest. If prosecutors overlooked that 2015 info, that's on the prosecutors, not the defendant.

2015 is within the statute of limitations.

chill people, the police probably only want to see the passport and make sure it's not his, and/or see her travel history. If she's been to Oman recently ;-), all bets are off.