Switzerland assists Japanese probe into Carlos Ghosn 

A visitor to Switzerland: Carlos Ghosn attending the 2018 World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

Canton Zurich’s public prosecutor is assisting the Japanese authorities in an inquiry related to bank accounts associated with Carlos Ghosn, the former leading auto executive. 

Tokyo prosecutors sent a request for legal assistance to Switzerland in January, a spokesperson for the country’s Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) told swissinfo.ch. 

Ghosn was ousted from his role as chairman and chief executive officer of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi alliance of carmakers last year over accusations of falsifying financial records and redirecting company funds, which he denies.  

He has since been charged in Japan on several counts of financial malfeasance. He is currently on bail awaiting trial in Japan. 

Ghosn has vehemently denied the charges and wrongdoing. According to Le FigaroExternal link, he has recently filed a lawsuit in the Netherlands against his former employers for improperly terminating his contract. 

Switzerland’s FOJ indicated that it referred the request to canton Zurich’s Public Prosecutor’s Office III. The Zurich prosecutor’s office said the inquiry has been actively investigated since March 8 and is ongoing.

“We cannot give any predictions as to how long the current investigation activities related to the judicial assistance will take,” a spokesman said via email. 

The judicial authorities declined to elaborate further on the inquiry. Ghosn’s legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment from swissinfo.ch. 

Translated from German by Patrick Böhler