Arab News

DUBAI: A French judicial delegation has postponed a visit to Lebanon to hear former Nissan and Renault head Carlos Ghosn for the first time in two cases being investigated in France, to May 31.

The delegation was scheduled to arrive in Beirut on May 17 to meet Ghosn, who has been in Lebanon since his escape from Japan in December of 2019, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.

But the Lebanese Public Prosecution said the visit was postponed to May 31 due to the lack of a judge.

Ghosn was scheduled to appear in a hearing before the French delegation in the Palace of Justice in Beirut, the report added.

It is expected that the sessions will be attended by judges from the Nanterre Prosecutor’s Office and the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, as well as investigators from the Central Office for Combating Corruption, Financial and Tax Crimes.

Ghosn is accused of several crimes including financial embezzlement charges in Japan.

Investigators are also concerned with a case involving suspicious payments between RNVB, the Dutch subsidiary of the Renault-Nissan alliance, and the French car manufacturer’s distributor in Oman, Suhail Bahwan Automobiles.

The French-Lebanese businessman’s hearing was originally scheduled for Jan. 18-22, but coronavirus restrictions led to the cancellation of the sessions.