- A plane likely used by Carlos Ghosn to escape Japan via Turkey is suspected of assisting in a gold trade involving Venezuela, Bloomberg News reported Friday.
- MNG Holdings was recruited to ferry gold between Turkey and Caracas last year, according to flight records.
- Turkey has detained seven people in connection with the former auto executive's escape through the country to Lebanon this week.
- Read more on Carlos Ghosn's international escapade here.
The charter airline recruited to ferry Carlos Ghosn out of Japan where he was awaiting trial to Lebanon via Turkey apparently also had another notable customer: Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro
Bloomberg News reported Friday that two planes operated by MNG Holding, suspected in assisting the former auto executive's escape, also helped wth a gold trade between the heavily embargoed Venezuelan government and Istanbul.
The plane in question, a Bombardier Global Express, made multiple trips between Caracas and Istanbul in late 2019, according to flight records.
In response to Bloomberg's report, MNG's Jet subsidiary said the company "does not bear any responsibility" for how customers use its planes, so long as it is not illegal.
The company filed a criminal complaint on January 1 for illegal use of its services by Ghosn, placing blame on one employee who acted alone in fabricating records, according to an earlier Bloomberg report.
For its part, Turkey detained four pilots and three other people suspected of helping with the operation.
Ghosn is expected to hold a press conference from Lebanon in the coming days. He has maintained his innocence in the roughly 13 months since his original arrest in November 2018.
More on Carlos Ghosn's international escapade:
- A timeline of how Carlos Ghosn fled 24/7 surveillance in Japan, escaped on a private jet, and made it to Lebanon
- Auto legend and ex-GM exec Bob Lutz slams fugitive Carlos Ghosn, says he has a 'god complex' and 'CEO disease'
- Carlos Ghosn was reportedly interested in making a Hollywood movie about his life
- Carlos Ghosn reportedly celebrated New Year's Eve at a glitzy dinner with his wife in Lebanon after his mysterious escape from Japan
- Carlos Ghosn said his family didn't help with his Houdini-like escape from Japan to Lebanon
- Carlos Ghosn fled Japan using a 2nd French passport that the courts let him keep, reports say