Etienne Laurent, Pool via AP
Carlos Ghosn
- In a new interview with CBS News, former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn described himself as a "fugitive from injustice" and said Hollywood has approached him about his unbelievable story.
- Ghosn escaped from Japan while on house arrest under 24-hour surveillance after Nissan executives accused him of not disclosing how much he was taking out of the company, and he was arrested and charged with financial wrongdoing.
- Investigators believe Ghosn stuffed himself in a box used for concert equipment with breathing holes cut in the bottom, so that he could be transported by private jet into Lebanon, where he grew up.
- Ghosn wouldn't tell CBS News whether the box rumor is true or if any Americans helped him on his exit from Japan, but he did say he planned the escape himself and that he is innocent of his charges.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Carlos Ghosn has expressed interest in making a movie about his life before, from meeting with "Birdman" producer John Lesher to being at the center of rumors he was working with Netflix (which the streaming service denies).
Now, Hollywood may be even more interested in the ousted Nissan CEO, now that he's pulled off an unbelievable escape from 24-hour surveillance on house arrest in Japan to living lavishly in Lebanon.
In a new interview with CBS News, Ghosn said Hollywood had reached out to him about his life story, and responded "Why not?" when asked if he could see a project happening.
He also answered "no comment" when asked about whether his daring escape on December 29 involved any Americans, or if he really stuffed himself into a box used for concert equipment with breathing holes cut in the bottom so that he could ride a private jet out of Japan without detection.
Ghosn described the risks he took when escaping from 24-hour surveillance in Japan, but didn't elaborate on how he did it
REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, and his wife Carole pose. Picture taken May 26, 2017.
Ghosn also told CBS News that he planned his escape himself, which was rumored to involve 15 people - including a former US Green Beret - and cost millions. For the first leg of his escape, Ghosn boarded a bullet train undetected for a 3-hour trip to the Osaka airport.
"I knew that I was taking risk," Ghosn said in the interview.
"I knew that, if I was putting people around me in the loop, not only they were taking a risk, but also the risk of any slippage, any rumor, any leak, would be very high, and they would kill any project like this. So, I had to work by myself only with people who are going to operate, you know? There was nobody else. This was a condition."
The fugitive, who described himself specifically as a "fugitive from injustice," says he's the only person who knows all the details about what really happened.
In the late '90s, Ghosn helped pull Nissan back from the brink of bankruptcy. But other Nissan executives accused him of not disclosing how much he was taking out of the company as profits began to suffer in 2018, and Ghosn was arrested in Japan and charged with financial wrongdoing.
He has claimed he's innocent of all charges and needed to escape from Japan, where there is a 99% conviction rate. At Japan's request, Interpol issued a "Red Notice" for Ghosn and his wife Carole, which doesn't require Lebanon to arrest him but is a request to law enforcement worldwide that they locate and arrest a fugitive.
"I don't feel bad about it, because the way I've been treated, and the way I was looking at the system, frankly, I don't feel any guilt," Ghosn told CBS News. The Lebanese government has restricted him from leaving the country, but he is now believed to be residing in a $15 million mansion.
- Read more:
- A video game parodying Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan is apparently in the works
- Japan's minister of justice responds to Carlos Ghosn's press conference urging the fugitive former Nissan executive to surrender. Read the full statement here.
- Ousted Nissan head Carlos Ghosn and wife Carole are now both wanted by Japan. Here's the story of the couple's intense relationship.
- Carlos Ghosn rips Nissan's investigation into his alleged conduct at the company, calling it a 'gross perversion of the truth'