Ex-Nissan chief Ghosn gets travel ban in Lebanon

Lebanese prosecutors have issued a travel ban for fugitive ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, following an Interpol-issued notice, a judicial official said Thursday.

Lebanon last week received an Interpol-issued wanted notice, which is a non-binding request to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a fugitive. Ghosn arrived in Lebanon on Dec. 30 after being smuggled out of Japan.

According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to reporters, Ghosn was currently being interrogated on a separate report against him over a 2008 visit to Israel. Lebanon and Israel are technically at war.

Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition treaty, and the Interpol notice does not require that Lebanese authorities arrest him. Lebanese authorities say Ghosn entered the country on a valid passport, casting doubt on the possibility they would hand him over to Japan.

Lebanese investigators finished questioning former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn on Thursday, a judicial source said, after he was summoned over an Interpol warrant issued by Japan seeking his arrest on financial misconduct charges.

The file was referred to public prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Ouiedat, for a decision, the source said.

Ghosn, 65, fled Japan to Lebanon, his childhood home, last month as he was awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies. Ghosn's lawyer in Lebanon could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.