Interpol has issued a “red notice” to Lebanon asking the country to arrest Carlos Ghosn, while the former Nissan chairman sought to quash allegations that his family had played a role in his escape from Tokyo to Beirut, reports the Financial Times.
The request from the international police organisation, confirmed by Beirut on Thursday, came as authorities in Japan and Turkey stepped up their investigations into Mr Ghosn’s secret mission to jump bail and fly out of Osaka airport on a private jet.
Japanese prosecutors on Thursday raided the house occupied by the former carmaker executive in Tokyo, and Turkish police detained seven airport staff and pilots in Istanbul, where Mr Ghosn’s plane made a stopover on its way to Beirut last Sunday.
Mr Ghosn on Thursday labelled allegations that his wife Carole and other members of his family had helped him as “false and deceitful”. In a statement via French public relations firm Image 7 he added: “It was I alone who organised my departure.”
The Turkish authorities are investigating whether the detainees, including four pilots, helped Mr Ghosn escape, according to Anadolu agency. Turkish media also reported that the detentions were part of an investigation by the interior ministry into Mr Ghosn’s transit, given neither his entry nor exit were registered.