The Nanterre prosecutor’s office near Paris confirmed to CNN on Friday that it had issued an international arrest warrant for Gon, who now lives in Lebanon, and the owners of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, a car dealer in Oman.
“The judge supervising the case has issued five international arrest warrants against M. Carlos Gon and the current owners or former leaders of the Omani company SBA,” a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
French media, including CNN’s BFMTV subsidiary, said the order involved more than 15 million euros ($ 16.3 million) in alleged suspicious payments between Renault-Nissan and the SBA.
Prosecutors told CNN that the order focused on many facts and “applies to crimes that can be charged in the context of the whole case that is currently being investigated.”
The SBA did not respond to a request for comment outside of normal business hours.
Gon has always denied allegations of financial misconduct in the car giant and said he escaped from house arrest in Japan in 2019 – where he was accused of filing false financial statements – because he did not believe he would get a fair trial.
Gon Jean Tamalet’s lawyer, a partner at King & Spalding, told CNN Business in a statement on Friday that the order was “surprising”.
“The investigating judge and the Nanterre prosecutor are well aware that Carlos Gon, who has always cooperated with the French judiciary, is subject to a court injunction to leave Lebanese territory,” he said.
“We believe this move is the only technical tool they have found that they will be able to hear in court in the future.”
Gon, the former chairman and CEO of the Automobile Alliance, was arrested in Japan in 2018 after an internal company investigation alleges “significant violations” were committed during his tenure, including allegations that he underestimated his income. .
In December 2019, while awaiting trial, Gon, who has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, embarked on a stunning escape from Japan to Lebanon, a country where he spent time as a child. Lebanon does not extradite its citizens.
The former car boss said he was ready to face trial outside Japan.
Gon confirmed to the BBC in July 2021 that he left the country by private plane while hiding in a box commonly used for audio equipment. “I didn’t leave Japan to hide somewhere,” Gon told CNN’s Richard Quest in an interview in January 2020. “I left Japan because I’m seeking justice and I want to clear my name.”
“Freedom, no matter how it happens, is always sweet,” he added.
Add Comment