Ousted chairman of Nissan had surrendered his passports as part of his bail conditions

Carlos Ghosn’s flight from criminal charges in Japan to Lebanon was aided by Lebanese state officials who were instructed by political leaders to smooth his arrival.

The former boss of Nissan and Renault landed at Beirut-Rafic Hariri international airport in Lebanon on Monday morning and said in a statement that he was escaping a “rigged” Japanese justice system. He reportedly hid in a musical instrument box to abscond from his house in Tokyo.

Carlos Ghosn was one of the biggest figures in the global car industry until his arrest for alleged financial misconduct. He forged an alliance between France’s Renault and Japan’s Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors – he was chair of Nissan, chief executive and chairman of Renault and chairman of Mitsubishi.