Japan Issues Arrest Warrant for Carlos Ghosn’s Wife

TOKYO — The Japanese authorities on Tuesday said they issued a warrant for the arrest of Carole Ghosn, the American wife of Carlos Ghosn, taking direct aim at the family of the fallen auto magnate as they seek to bring him back to the country to face criminal charges.

Prosecutors in Tokyo said they had obtained an arrest warrant for Mrs. Ghosn, 53, on suspicion of giving false testimony. In a written statement, they said Mrs. Ghosn had testified in April that she did not know a person who was involved in Mr. Ghosn’s case, even though she was in communication with that person while the person was wiring money between companies at Mr. Ghosn’s request.

The statement did not disclose the identities of the person or the companies.

The Ghosn family could not immediately be reached for comment.

The arrest warrant is the latest twist in an international tale of intrigue. Mr. Ghosn, the architect of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi auto empire, faces charges of financial wrongdoing in Japan. But he fled the country on Dec. 29 and reappeared in Lebanon. Mr. Ghosn is a Lebanese national, and the nation does not extradite its citizens.

Mrs. Ghosn is believed to be in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, where she was photographed with her husband on New Year’s Eve. It is not clear how a Japanese arrest warrant would affect her ability to return to the United States, which has an extradition agreement with Japan, or to travel to other countries with extensive ties to Japan.

While she is in Lebanon, Japan’s options are limited. The authorities in Tokyo have pressed Lebanon to return Mr. Ghosn, though they acknowledge that Lebanese law forbids extradition of a citizen. A Japanese Justice Ministry official on Tuesday said the authorities were reviewing Lebanese law and working with Japan’s Foreign Ministry.

Japanese officials prompted Interpol, the international criminal information clearinghouse, to issue what is known as a red notice, which is issued internationally for individuals wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence. But red notices essentially function as a diplomatic request for help, not as an international arrest warrant, and they do not obligate governments to comply.

Putting Mrs. Ghosn in custody if she travels to the United States is no sure thing, either. While Japan and the United States have long had extradition agreements, they enjoy broad discretion in deciding whether to offer up their citizens to face criminal charges.

Mrs. Ghosn has been a vocal defender of her husband. In April, in an interview with The New York Times, she described how the Japanese authorities treated her “like a terrorist” when they arrested him again in April at a Tokyo home where they were staying, while he was free on bail on earlier charges.

Also on Tuesday, Japan’s land and transportation minister, Kazuyoshi Akaba, said the authorities on Monday said that major airports with terminals for private jets would be required to inspect large baggage items that pass through them. The stepped-up measures followed reports that Mr. Ghosn escaped through Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, while hiding in a large box that was loaded onto a private aircraft.

Japanese officials have also said that they confiscated the 1.5 billion yen, or nearly $14 million, in bail Mr. Ghosn forfeited when he fled the country.

Mr. Ghosn was first arrested by the Japanese authorities in November 2018 and ultimately charged with four counts of financial wrongdoing while running the vast automotive empire. Mr. Ghosn has denied the allegations and said he was set up by Nissan executives who feared that he would more closely combine the operations of the major Japanese automaker with its French partner, Renault.

On Tuesday, Nissan broke its silence on Mr. Ghosn’s flight, saying in a statement that an internal investigation found “numerous acts of misconduct” and it could continue to cooperate with the authorities in investigating him.

“Ghosn’s flight will not affect Nissan’s basic policy of holding him responsible for the serious misconduct uncovered by the internal investigation,” it said. “The company will continue to take appropriate legal action to hold Ghosn accountable for the harm that his misconduct has caused to Nissan.

Even after Mr. Ghosn was released on bail, Nissan kept monitoring its former chief, the Japanese news media has reported. The reports said that the surveillance stopped shortly before Mr. Ghosn fled.

Junichiro Hironaka, one of Mr. Ghosn’s lawyers in Japan, said he noted that the former Nissan executive was under surveillance and filed a criminal complaint with the police on Dec. 27, without specifying a target of the complaint. In a brief interview, he said he did not know whether his complaint led to the cancellation of the surveillance.

Nissan declined to comment.

Vivian Yee contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon.