Carlos Ghosn’s Escape: A Lawyer in Beirut, a French Passport and a Lot of Mystery

There had been no sign that Mr. Ghosn was preparing to flee, Mr. Hironaka said. To the contrary, he added, everything suggested that Mr. Ghosn had been preparing to defend himself in court.

Mr. Ghosn’s bail conditions limited his phone use, and he spent most of his days in his lawyer’s office, the only place he was allowed to use the internet. For months, he had been commuting from his home to meet with his lawyers and prepare for his trial.

All the while, a court-ordered camera monitored his doorway, recording his comings and goings. Whenever he went out, he suspected that the authorities and private investigators from Nissan followed him around the city, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Ghosn spoke with his wife, Carole, for about an hour on Dec. 24, Mr. Hironaka said. Prosecutors had asked a judge to forbid the couple to contact each other over concerns that they might conspire to tamper with evidence or witnesses. The court had kept the couple from communicating for months, Mr. Hironaka said, and they had spoken only twice since Mr. Ghosn was rearrested in April.

Nevertheless, Mr. Ghosn stayed in touch with his family. His daughter Maya visited him in Tokyo, according to people familiar with his movements. And his outings with his children would occasionally be reported by the Japanese press or pop up on social media, where commentators speculated about his welfare.

Mr. Hironaka said the legal team spent Christmas Day in court discussing preparations for Mr. Ghosn’s trial, which was expected to take place sometime in 2020.

The team had planned to regroup on Jan. 7 for the first strategy session of the new year.

All three of Mr. Ghosn’s passports were in his lawyers’ possession, Mr. Hironaka said. It was one of the conditions of his bail, which his lawyers had won only after repeated, hard-fought attempts to convince the court that their client, with all of his wealth and power, was not a flight risk.