Fugitive: The Curious Case of Carlos Ghosn (2022) - full transcript

[somber music playing]

[reporter 1 in French]
The former chairman of Renault-Nissan

has left Japan and fled to Lebanon.

[reporter 2 in Japanese] …former Nissan
Chairman Carlos Ghosn is on the run.

[reporter 3 in English] …former Nissan
chairman Carlos Ghosn

had been under house arrest in Japan…

[reporter 4] He reportedly got there
in a musical instrument case.

- [indistinct chatter]
- [car doors opening]

[Ghosn on video] 130 days in prison.

Solitary confinement.

Constrained by handcuffs



and bound by a leash around my waist.

I felt like I was not a human anymore.

[Takashi Takano in Japanese] In Japan,
when someone is arrested…

That person's life is over.

[Hiroto Saikawa in English] It was him,
Carlos Ghosn, that betrayed my trust.

[camera clicking]

[Clément Lacombe in French]
He built himself a shell

because he thought he was invincible.

[Yuko Ando in Japanese]
He went from being a savior,

to eventually a suspected criminal.

[Nathalie Gigandet in French]
He lost all his power.

He's become the naked king,
completely naked.

[Patrick Pelata in English] What happened?
That's the big question.

What happened is money.



[Ravinder Passi]
I didn't sign up for this.

I didn't sign up to be involved

in some strange international conspiracy,

especially in Japan.

[Ghosn on video] All the signs
that there was no way

I was going to be treated fairly.

It's not very difficult
to come to the conclusion

you're gonna die in Japan
or you're gonna have to get out.

- [intriguing music playing]
- [drill whirring]

[clears throat]

Hi.

[speaking Spanish]

[speaking French]

[speaking Arabic] Hello. Good morning.

Okay, just to explain,
I'm actually an actor.

My script is based on interviews

with Mr. Ghosn's closest assistants
and PR advisors

that he's been working with for years
and who, for various reasons,

didn't wanna take part
in this documentary.

But for now, let's focus on the facts.

The story started in 1996 in Paris,
where Mr. Ghosn was brought in

to help save the beloved
French car company Renault.

[reporter in French] Renault has recorded
a net loss of 5,248,000,000 francs.

Louis Schweitzer, its president, says

these figures have put the manufacturer
in the red for the first time in a decade.

The losses are still an issue.

[in English] In 1996,

I was looking for a deputy within Renault.

And I was also looking for a successor.

So I contacted Carlos Ghosn,

and he came to visit me at my office.

He was, of course, bright, brilliant.

[Gigandet in French] He was very direct,

very focused on the issue at hand,

and not at all the kind of person
who'd chat about the weather.

No small talk, as we say in English.

[Schweitzer in English]
I decided on the spot that I wanted him.

[in French] In the classical French
system, there are lots of inheritors.

So people who are the nephews,
grandchildren,

or the children of senior officials,
ministers, or CEOs, etc.

Carlos Ghosn wasn't that at all.

Carlos Ghosn came from somewhere else,
from a very different world.

[Schweitzer in English] At the time,
Carlos Ghosn was Lebanese.

He was not French.

I told him, "I think it is a good idea

for you to acquire French citizenship,

because I think it's important
that the CEO of Renault is French."

[in French] He had absolutely no desire

to become part
of the French establishment,

especially not
in the Parisian environment, let's say.

I think that cost him dearly later on.

[intriguing music playing]

The other bosses didn't like him
because he wasn't in their social circle.

They'd see each other at the opera,
soccer matches, or meetings.

Carlos Ghosn never did any of that.

From the very start, he was an outsider.

[in English] Our name in Arabic
is "Ghossone," but in French,

it's hard to say.

You really would have to say.

"G-H-O-S-S-O-N-E" to say it "Ghossone,"

but it's not, so…

It's "Ghosn."

Oof.

[chuckling] Ooh!

Yeah. I love this picture.

It's very much him.

With the monks.

[giggles]

Very serious.

Oh, my God! This is…

[chuckling] Oof, that's a long time ago.

[exclaims]

He was like a magician for us.

He's, I mean, really,
the brother you want to have.

[John Harris] The challenge of
working for Mr. Ghosn

was that his standard brief was,

"Send me something.
I will tell you if it's wrong."

I always describe myself as the guy
who cleans the tiger cage at the zoo.

You have to go in showing total respect,

but absolutely no fear.

[intriguing music playing]

An automaker is like a vast clock
with a million moving parts.

Ghosn went through knob by knob.

"Adjust this way.
Adjust this way. Adjust…."

Thousands of knobs.

He did it by analyzing
each function in Renault

and saying, "From next year,
you have three commitments to make."

"And if you do not make these commitments,

I will have your nuts."

[man yelling]

[in French] Renault has announced
that it will close its factory

in Vilvoorde, Belgium in July.

More than 3,000 jobs are at stake.

[crowd clamoring]

[reporter] Renault has decided
to cease production

at its Belgian factory.

- [dark music playing]
- [crowd chanting]

[Harris in English] The media
had termed him "Le Cost Killer."

Right? As if it was, you know,

all about laying people off,
and shutting factories,

and cutting things,

but then, you can't
cut your way to growth.

[reporter in French] The Cost Cutter,
literally "The Reducer of Costs,"

Carlos Ghosn ruthlessly
reorganized production.

[in English] I mean, yes,
3,000 people did lose their jobs,

but thanks to Mr. Ghosn,
within a couple of years,

Renault went from billions in debt
to a healthy profit.

Over 12.5 billion francs.

[in French] Unbelievable!

[intriguing music playing]

[reporter] The CEO of Renault,
Louis Schweitzer,

isn't particularly known
for his good humor.

But, today, he has every reason to smile.

[Schweitzer in English] Renault,
at the time, had done a major turnaround,

but we felt that we were too small,
too dependent on Europe.

The conclusion was that
we should establish an alliance

with another car manufacturer,

and that this other car manufacturer
had to be Asian.

Either Korean or Japanese.

[intriguing music playing]

[reporter in French]
Renault and Nissan are creating

the world's fourth-biggest
automobile group.

A shared global partnership agreement
has just been signed in Tokyo.

A global partnership in which
Renault will invest 33 billion francs

to acquire just over a third
of the Japanese capital.

[Schweitzer in English]
I was betting the future of Renault

on the success
of the Renault-Nissan alliance.

I have stated publicly
that I would not have done this deal

if I did not have a man like Ghosn
to lead the company.

Oh, we were scared.

We're like, "What? Japan?"

"We have nothing in common."

"Not the language. We have not...
We don't even know how you say 'hi.'"

"I mean, we don't know nothing."

I'm saying,
"You're sure you're going to Japan?"

[ambient funk music playing]

And he said from the beginning,
"If I don't succeed, I'm out."

[Ando in Japanese] What Mr. Ghosn
came to was a car maker in total chaos.

A down-and-out Nissan,
unable to make new cars

or produce any popular models.

Mr. Ghosn came
shouldering the responsibility

of somehow rebuilding Nissan.

[in English] Nissan,
at the time of the investment by Renault,

was 20 billion dollars in debt

and was almost insolvent.

MURAYAMA FACTORY

[Kelly] I was skeptical
but somewhat open-minded,

but there was nobody
in the automotive industry

that thought this would be a success.

[tense music playing]

[Ando in Japanese] Calling it an alliance

implies equality,

but this was no alliance.

Renault was above and Nissan was below.

[Kelly in English] It wasn't a merger,
but it wasn't a marriage.

Renault made an investment.

They controlled Nissan.

[in Japanese] It was a big surprise

for a company like Nissan

to bring in and accept a foreign CEO.

Mmm. Very surprising.

[Hisao Inoue] I, too,
as a business reporter,

had the impression

that Japan was being
taken over by another country.

I felt like we had lost a war and were now

being occupied.

- [Ghosn in English] How are you?
- [man] Konnichiwa.

[Inoue in Japanese] I understood
that having no choice

but to accept a foreigner as the president

of such a company was like losing a war,

like we'd lost an economic war.

[Ando] He visited the factories
across Japan in person.

He wanted to seem friendly,
caring, and generous

toward his workers

in order to show

that he wasn't the sort of person
to rashly fire people.

- [Ghosn in English] A lot of challenges.
- [speaking Japanese]

So every day and every week
make the company stronger.

[woman speaking Japanese]

And that the strength of the company
is nurtured by your efforts.

[woman speaking Japanese]

[in Japanese] I thought,

"Could this middle-aged guy really
be such a revolutionary?"

That was my initial impression of him.

He was short and bald back then,

and he wore these out-of-fashion glasses.

In that sense,
it seemed like he had no relation to

the fashionable country of France.

[all clapping]

[Gigandet in French]
It was in the autumn of 1999

that the idea was to present a plan
to revive Nissan in three years.

[in Japanese] In order to make

the Nissan revival plan a success,

depends on how much

[in English] especially if we consider

that Nissan has
a strong base for recovery.

[Ando in Japanese] Ghosn was already known

as a cost-cutter
in his work with Michelin and Renault.

So Nissan employees

really feared they would lose their jobs.

[in English] This means
a 21,000-head-count reduction

or 14% of total employment.

[in Japanese] After Ghosn came,

my main job was to lay people off.

21,000 EMPLOYEE CUTBACK

He gave directions and set
specific figures that had to be met,

and were impossible to achieve with
the way we had been working until then.

[protester] Stop factory closures!

[crowd] Stop factory closures!

[protester] Stop the
Renault/Nissan conspiracy!

But if anyone complained,

they were cut off.

Especially if the complaints
were made towards Ghosn.

[in English] From a PR perspective,

let's say that it was
something of a challenge

to put a positive spin
on losing 21,000 jobs.

Mr. Ghosn had to go
on a major charm offensive here.

- [Ando] Good morning, Mr. Ghosn!
- Good morning, how are you?

- Nice to meet you.
- How do you do? My name is Yuko Ando.

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice meeting you.

- Well, you're early in the morning, huh?
- [laughs] Yes.

[in Japanese] When I first
met Mr. Ghosn to interview him,

he was so sure that he wouldn't fail.

The next 15 minutes is important,

because no one is here yet
and he can work on his own

with no one to bother him.

He checks his emails.

[Ando] He was 100% sure of success.

Failure never even occurred to him.

[sinister note playing]

[Ghosn in English]
Ladies and gentlemen, um.

I want to thank you
for taking the time to be here.

[in French] I would also like to welcome
our friends from the French press.

[in Arabic] Today,
I am proud to be Lebanese.

[audience clapping]

A country that
has stood by me in difficult times.

[Saikawa in English]
I was a kind of junior manager

when he got into Nissan the first time.

I was working for him
and with him 19 years.

He was a good leader,
very solid and credible.

And, of course, charismatic leader.

We are not very close in the…
how to say… personally.

But, you know, he was a good boss.
Excellent boss.

[Ghosn] You're the fat right man now.
Technology, vibration

[in Japanese] thank you for coming.

- [woman in English] That's fine.
- Good?

Preserving Nissan's identity

and keeping it separate from Renault
was actually, I think, uh,

a brilliant idea.

It wouldn't have worked otherwise.

[workout instructor singing in Japanese]

[Harris] Ghosn realized very clearly that

if you try to make all the Japanese

wear berets and carry baguettes
under their arms, it wasn't going to work.

[Gigandet in French] In Japanese culture,
the biggest holiday of the year

is New Year's Day.

Carlos Ghosn missed this first meeting,

which notably included suppliers.

He was supposed to open
a barrel of sake using an axe

and wish everyone happiness.

If you don't do that,
it's really frowned upon.

He wasn't there. He'd gone on vacation.

WELCOME EVERYONE,
TO THE NISSAN IWAKI FACTORY!

[Matsumoto in Japanese] He had
a lot of charisma.

Everyone would get nervous

and would be in awe when they met him.

[intriguing music playing]

[Matsumoto] Mr. Ghosn wasn't handsome.

I thought he looked like Mr. Bean.

But I couldn't say that out loud
because I'd get in trouble.

[chuckles] Why are you laughing?

He never smelled of alcohol.

And, of course, he didn't smoke.

He was always serious.

He was early to rise and early to bed.
[laughs]

I'd prepare his
daily breakfast in a bottle

the day before.

There'd be oatmeal with coconut milk,
maqui berry powder,

one stick of seaweed brain powder

which cost about 1,000 yen per stick.

I'd blend it all in a blender
until it was thick and purple,

and that's what he'd have every morning.

He looked good in a suit
and he seemed powerful.

I don't know how to explain it.

[menacing music playing]

[Ghosn in English] I didn't stay 17 years
Head of Nissan because I was Carlos Ghosn.

I was there only because I was performing.
I was delivering growth.

I was delivering profit.
I was delivering cash flow.

I was delivering dividends.
That's our reason to be.

[in Japanese] Now, a meeting with Ghosn

always meant numbers.

He'd bring out a ton of figures

and all this data.

He'd speak so quickly,

stunning everyone into acceptance.

I suppose it's a sort of

performative magic.

[intriguing music playing]

[in English] Little bit more…

[Kelly] The turnaround
at Nissan was remarkable.

It went from an ugly lineup
to a good lineup.

It went from 2.5 million vehicles
to 5.7 million vehicles.

It went from 20 billion in debt
to 15 billion in the bank.

I mean, probably very few people,
maybe only Ghosn could do it.

[Lacombe in French] People at Nissan
said there was a "Ghosn premium."

And that just having Ghosn as a manager

made the company more valuable
in the eyes of investors.

That was Ghosn's position
in the automotive industry.

[Sproule in English] I can remember
going to Japan thinking, "Okay,

I'm really dealing with someone
who's very famous, very recognizable."

From my career to that point,

I hadn't sort of looked after someone
who was quite so well-known as Mr. Ghosn.

[engine revving]

Every car company has an icon.

Ford has the Mustang.

GM has the Corvette.

Aston Martin has the DB5.

Nissan had the GT-R.

Everything built up to launching the GT-R
at the Tokyo Motor Show.

I had written this speech,
and Simon had written a press release.

It was a fun one to write

because it was all about
passion and product.

[Harris] Because Ghosn was such a draw,

you had 800 journalists
all crammed around the stage.

And it's really uncomfortable,
and hot, and sweaty. You're all waiting.

[Sproule] I can remember being backstage
with Mr. Ghosn saying to me,

"This is a big deal," and it was.

- [engine revving]
- He comes roaring onto the stage!

- [heavy metal music playing]
- [crowd applauding]

[Sproule] He was always very serious,

but he cracked a smile
when he got out of that car.

I think emotions got the better of him.

[Harris] And he says…

What you hear is the roar
of Nissan's passion for performance.

[Harris] "What you see is
its ultimate physical expression."

The all-new Nissan GT-R.

[Harris] That was peak Ghosn.

That was his peak moment.

When I was a student at the university…

- Yeah.
- …my boyfriend had a GT-R.

There we go.

[both laughing]

Good memories, then. Good memories.

[Ando in Japanese]
He wanted to show that the GT-R

was like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

NISSAN TEST DRIVE SITE

[Ando] Meaning that the car
was actually very easy to drive.

- [on video] …almost 100 kph.
- [yelps]

[Ando] He let me drive it.

[on video] That was 200 kph… 200 kph!

Then suddenly at 60 kph…

[Ando] But what I ended up feeling then

was that Ghosn loved cars

the way little boys do.

[Inoue] Basically,
he loved the attention of the media.

[upbeat music playing]

[Gigandet in French] He was very famous.

[cameras clicking]

[Gigandet] It was a kind of Ghosn mania.
That's clear.

- [upbeat music continues]
- [crowd clamoring]

[in Japanese] I thought he might be scary

but seeing him in person, he's playful.

He even waved!

[Gigandet in French]
He was in all the magazines.

He was treated like a star.

[upbeat music continues]

[Ando in Japanese] He was good
at managing his own stage presence.

In other words, figuring out
how to make his own fan club

was extremely important.

What Ghosn did
was build a fan base within Nissan

and secured his place as CEO.

I think that's something very similar
to what a politician does.

- [upbeat music continues]
- [all shout]

GO IWAKI!

[inaudible]

[Gigandet in French] That was
when man gas started drawing his portrait

and writing his story to appear in comics.

[laughing]

[in English] I don't know if it's this way
or that way, how they read it, but…

Yeah, it's... I mean, come on.

To see your brother in a manga in Japan…

[Gigandet in French]
His face lent itself well to it.

He had thick black eyebrows.

[chuckling] He was very easy to draw.

[in English] My cousin who was there
told me once that

she went to the restaurant with him,

and when he entered the restaurant,
she said, "Nayla, it was incredible."

"Everybody stood up
and clapped their hands."

She told me, "I had the shivers.
I wish you were there to see."

I would have cried, of course.

[in Japanese] This is me and Mr. Ghosn.

And this one is Mr. Ghosn
with our staff and me.

He's so famous
that almost everyone knows him.

Thanks to Mr. Ghosn,

people found out about our restaurant

and we became busy.

He'd sit at this counter.

His favorite yakitori was

kashiwa, chicken breast.

[in English] When he started succeeding,

and I would see the manga
and all those things,

we're like, "Oh, my God,
you're like a fusée, like a comet going,

and you're gonna
still always surprise us."

[triumphant fanfare playing]

What he did between 1999 and 2007

was absolutely brilliant
and without parallel.

And whatever has happened since,
you can't take that away from him.

[in French] A small revolution
in the automotive world.

The Renault group is changing leaders.

Louis Schweitzer hands the baton
to Carlos Ghosn,

the current CEO of Nissan.

I'm really happy to be back in France

to take the reins as CEO of a company
as innovative and enthusiastic as Renault.

[soft piano music playing]

[Schweitzer in English] What we had
agreed upon, Carlos Ghosn and myself,

was that Carlos would be
my successor at Renault.

But what we had also agreed was that
he would stop being the CEO of Nissan.

[piano music continues]

[Gigandet in French]
He could have delegated.

He could also have chosen someone Japanese
who was familiar with both cultures, etc.

He didn't do that. He didn't try.

[Schweitzer in English] He told me,
"I will hold both positions,

CEO of Renault and CEO of Nissan,
at the same time for a few months."

"In time for me
to find a successor at Nissan."

And of course I believed that.

And I believe
I was stupid to believe that.

[Gigandet in French]
He wanted to maintain control over Nissan.

And that was a fatal error, in my opinion,

for the alliance, Nissan,
Renault, and himself.

I think he paid dearly in the end.

[Sproule in English]
We were doing things literally on the fly.

Went to Thailand.
We were there for a couple of days.

We then went to Egypt
on the banks of the Nile.

Then it was on to Europe,
and then on to somewhere else.

And it was constantly go, go, go.

Yeah, and it was hard to keep up.

I would meet with him about once a month
on his orbiting schedule.

[Inoue in Japanese] They say he only spent
one week out of the month in Japan.

The rest was either in France or America.

[Lacombe in French] A CEO actively
managing two huge, global companies

was unheard of,
only Carlos Ghosn did that.

But nobody was able to make him understand
that it wasn't possible

for him to run two companies
of that size 10,000 km apart,

spending his whole life on planes,
being torn between the two.

It really isn't the best way
to understand the region, the people,

to see the teams
and understand what was really going on.

That was the start of the disconnect.

[Ghosn on video] In total,

we are going to launch
26 cars within the plan's time frame.

Increase our sales
by 800,000 vehicles in 2009

compared to 2006.

We are going to double our volume growth
in half the time.

[in Japanese] His biggest goal
was to earn a profit

and distribute it to the shareholders.

As for how he treated personnel

using the talented
and discarding the useless

I think it was very different

from management styles in Japan back then.

[in French] I think that Ghosn's proximity
to the troops, as we call them,

was really, really bad.

[Sylvie Touzet] Carlos Ghosn
decided overnight

that they needed to cut costs by 30%
within the Technocentre.

They were obliged to sign in blood,
pretty much,

well, obviously not,

but they had to sign promising
to give their heart and soul to it.

In early 2006,

my husband was working
at least 12 hours a day.

That also included weekends.

The last two months,
he was working more than 90 hours a week.

He regularly exceeded 100 hours.

So, it was really ridiculous.

Then, in the early afternoon,
I got a call from the police.

What I first thought was
that he had been in a car accident.

But that obviously wasn't the case.

My husband committed suicide
by jumping off a footbridge.

Two other people had already jumped
from the same footbridge before him.

One of them died,

and the other hurt himself seriously
and ended up in a wheelchair, paralyzed.

There were three suicides in four months.
That's when the press jumped on the story.

[reporter on recording] Is there a
collective sickness among Renault staff?

The question must be asked again

following the suicide
of a 44-year-old employee.

I saw him lose almost
eight kilograms in six weeks.

I saw him crying every night.

I saw him spending his nights
and weekends working.

I saw him no longer knowing where he was.

He told me he wouldn't be forgiven,
that no mistake would be forgiven.

It's Renault's misconduct
that won't be forgiven.

[Gigandet] I worked
at the Technocentre back then.

It really was something
we had never experienced before.

There was a sort of loss
of meaning, of soul,

and people were so desperate
that they took their own lives.

We would never have imagined
that could happen at Renault.

[Touzet] So I wrote to Carlos Ghosn.

I thought that he might respond
if I addressed it directly to him.

He didn't answer me.

Of course that's to be expected.

I don't know
if he's the sole person responsible.

But he is responsible
for the pressure he put on the company,

for what he encouraged
in terms of management methods.

Car manufacturer Renault
is guilty of gross negligence.

Gross negligence.

Gross negligence in the suicide

[reporter] the court determined
that the car maker

"should have been aware of the danger."

The company absolutely does not
take this kind of tragedy lightly.

This affects us all,

and there will be consequences
in terms of management and the attention…

[Touzet] What I am realizing
by talking to you

is that the pain has eased,
but the anger has not.

I am still full of rage.

I am… The rage is still there.

The pain has eased somewhat,
but the anger has not.

[in Japanese]
In Japan, it has been compulsory

to disclose the amount of remuneration

if you are paid more than
100 million yen since 2010.

[in French] And that was when we realized
that Carlos Ghosn's salary

was seven times higher
than that of Toyota's CEO.

[in Japanese] Well, for someone like me…

When I saw the publicized income
for Carlos Ghosn,

I thought it was absurdly high.

It was beyond our imagination.

He thought he wasn't being paid enough.

And by that time,
Mr. Ghosn was starting to lose

what you may call his "superhuman powers."

[ominous music playing]

[in English] Once it was announced

that Mr. Ghosn was being paid
eight million euros by Nissan,

questions started to be asked
in France as well.

I mean, yeah, it was true

he was also being paid 1.2 million euros
by Renault, and for some reason,

some people seem to think that a total
salary of 9.2 million euros was excessive.

[in French] Ford said,
well, the founder of Ford said,

"To ensure a good atmosphere
in my company,

I should not be earning more than 20 times
what the basic worker makes."

This is "the sharing day."
What do you think of that comment?

To start with, you said "Ford said that,"
but Ford doesn't apply this rule.

The CEO of Ford is currently
the highest paid CEO in the industry.

And he makes three times what I do.
Just so you know.

[Matsumoto in Japanese] I've never
seen him excessively spend money.

He was quite conservative
and took care of his things.

As for his shirts,

he'd wear them until
the collar and underarms

turned yellow.

Also, this button here.

He gained some weight
and the neck became a bit tight,

so he asked me to

adjust them all by one centimeter inwards.

He really valued
and took care of his money.

Maybe that's why he was good at saving.

- [camera clicking]
- [upbeat music playing]

LEBANON

[upbeat music continues]

He started to change his appearance.

It was always said that
he wore shoes with thicker soles

to make him appear taller.

[inaudible]

But his hair is obviously
a hair transplant.

[in French] We've finally achieved a
5% market share, which was the first step.

[in Japanese] Oh, his hair.

I suppose he has more hair…

Compared to before.

I don't know if he grew taller,

but he definitely has more hair now.

Then he got rid of his glasses

and got Lasik,

laser eye surgery for nearsightedness.

[Harris in English]
Certainly, he had a midlife crisis.

He divorced his first wife. His kids…

His kids went off to university.

He started to wear better suits.

He started to really pay attention
to his appearance,

and he started to have
a bit more swagger to him.

A securities analyst told me
that the notional value of his hour

was somewhere between
150,000 US dollars and 250,000.

So my key metric
was "don't waste his time."

No problem.
Uh, do I need to sign something?

[Ravinder Passi] I'd been working
at Nissan for close to seven years.

And an opportunity was presented to me

to go and work
at the global headquarters in Japan.

I mean, I was quite nervous anyway
because it was my first board meeting.

I didn't want to be late.

Didn't want a leaky fountain pen
or anything like that.

It was pretty impressive
because everyone was there in advance.

He came in, he sat down,
and then, you know…

[Ghosn] Uh, 10:30, okay.

Bang on time, the meeting started.

Who is starting today?

[man] Me.

- Shall I start now?
- Yeah, please. Let's go. Let's go ahead.

Sort of group of executives around him
that just were hanging on every word

like a little fan group almost,
a fan club,

and they do everything for him,

or try to do everything for him,
to please him.

[Hara laughs in Japanese] I wouldn't
say that Carlos Ghosn was the Emperor

I don't know if he thought
he was God or something,

but no one was allowed to defy him.

[in French] In my eyes,
his feet no longer touched the ground.

He had launched into the stratosphere.

- [crowd cheering]
- [marching band playing]

He ended up being surrounded by people
who'd only tell him he was great, etc.,

so he lost all sense of reality.

That contributed to his paranoia
and his fear of conspiracies against him.

[Ghosn in English] All of a sudden,
a few prosecutors

and a bunch of executives at Nissan say,
"You know what?"

"This guy is a cold,
cold, greedy dictator."

That's what they said.
"Cold, greedy dictator."

[echoing] "Cold, greedy dictator."

[dark music playing]

[Pelata] In September 2010,

a few executives of Renault
received a letter saying

you have high-level people

communicating information
to a Chinese company,

and these people are boom, boom, boom.

[in French] They were accused
of selling Renault's information

to spies in China.

[Pelata in English] And then Carlos Ghosn
has a very strong reaction saying,

"Go to the government.
They are going to leak it."

"And that's going to be
big trouble in China,

and Nissan is big in China."

So I said, "No, no, no, we can't go to...
You can't go to the government."

"So you have to try
to convince the people to speak."

I organized, it was a small team,
to interview these three people.

I know well the three guys,
but I know very well one guy.

- [knock on door]
- [Pelata in French on tape] Yes? Hello.

[Bertrand Rochette] Hello, Patrick.

- [Pelata] How are you?
- [Rochette] Good.

[in English] So the point is
because we are good friends,

maybe I will be able
to convince him to speak.

[Pelata in French] I'm meeting
with you today

because we have found out
that you did something serious.

[Rochette] What?

[Pelata] We're talking
about industrial espionage.

I am appalled
that you would do something like this.

[Rochette] Sorry, I must not
have fully woken up this morning.

I don't understand.

[Pelata in English]
So I have the meeting with him,

and he's saying,
"What are you saying, Patrick?"

[chuckling] "This is…
I have nothing to do with that."

So I said, "Yeah, but I received a paper

showing that you have a bank account
in Switzerland that received that money."

He said, "This is not true."

[man in French] To be completely
transparent, some of your sidekicks

are being interviewed in nearby offices
as we speak.

They are suspected of the same offenses.

- You are at the center of a strategy...
- [Matthieu Tenenbaum] But it's...

- [man] You've done something stupid.
- [Tenenbaum] I haven't done anything.

[man] It was stupid, and it was an error.

[man] You know all this
better than I do, Michel.

[Michel Balthazard] I don't know anything.

I really don't know
what you're talking about.

I know nothing. I understand nothing.

[man] This means that your career,
your family, everything is over.

As soon as you leave this room,
you are also leaving Renault, Michel.

[Balthazard] The thing is, I don't want to
be in deep shit for something I didn't do.

[man] You're the one who knows, Michel.

That was our first day back in the office
after the holidays.

We went around the offices

to greet everyone
and tell them, "Happy New Year."

Then, first thing in the morning,
we heard a rumor

that three people had been fired.

We were soon told
we could not even talk to them

if they called us.

Where are we?

Is this Stalin's USSR?

Three Renault employees,
three high-level executives,

are suspected of leaking trade secrets.

[reporter] Three people at the heart
of the group have been fired

for divulging strategic information
regarding electric cars.

An embarrassing scandal for management.

I was kicked out of this company
like a dog.

Renault has made serious allegations,

which I totally refute.

I've not touched any money.
I do not have any foreign bank accounts.

I've been transparent. The investigation
is now in the hands of the law.

[in English] Everything is made worse
because Carlos Ghosn goes on the main TV.

[in French] Our guest tonight
is Carlos Ghosn. Good evening.

- Good evening.
- Thank you for joining us.

As you know, there are many questions
surrounding this case.

[in English] Advisors told him,
"Don't speak of evidence."

"Don't speak of evidence. Be careful."

[in French] Did you have
formal evidence of their culpability?

Listen, we have certitudes.
We wouldn't be here if we didn't.

What you need to know...

[in English] Everybody's asking,
"Where is the evidence?"

[Schweitzer] I knew that it was bullshit.

I mean, there was not a word
which was true.

[laughing] But we don't have evidence.

We just have this miserable paper

that has been actually
made up by a guy from Renault…

Who is a crook.

[Lacombe in French]
The accused employees were not spies,

they were victims of blackmail.

[in English] And then the bank accounts,
all that was all made up. All made up.

[reporter in French] Yes or no, was there
a case of industrial espionage at Renault?

The management team is beginning
to show its doubts.

We were all embarrassed.

Everyone was laughing at Renault,

at Carlos Ghosn in particular.

Then finally, a month later,

I can't quite remember the order,

he went back on TV.

- Carlos Ghosn, good evening.
- Good evening.

In January, you claimed to have certitudes

and a multitude of evidence of espionage.

It's now become clear
that you were wrong, to say the least.

What is your conclusion tonight?

Listen, I was mistaken.

We were mistaken.

And according to the conclusions
we have heard from the Paris prosecutor,

it seems that we were deceived.

[Pelata in English] Sarkozy's asking
either number one or number two

to resign because of that.

He was the president, Sarkozy,
at that time.

[laughs] So I am roasted.

I need to go.

I have to leave
to basically protect Carlos Ghosn.

[in French] There's a French expression,
"The fish rots from the head down."

We clearly thought
upper management had gone crazy.

It was really the beginning
of the end for Carlos Ghosn

and the alliance, I'd say.

[grave music playing]

[rousing classical music playing]

[Pelata in English] For me, the most
symbolic thing of this sad story

is what he did in Versailles.

Officially, it's for the 15th birthday
of the alliance between Renault-Nissan,

but he did it on exactly
his birthday, his 60th birthday.

The fact was that the Palace of Versailles
just wasn't available on any other day.

It was just…

It was pure coincidence
that this work event

happened on the same day
as his 60th birthday.

It wasn't planned.

I mean, he didn't have
a birthday cake or anything, you know?

Like, nobody sang happy birthday.

But there was a Michelin-star chef
on the day, which was really cool.

Do you know the price of this birthday?

It's like 630,000 euros.

And he pays that
with Renault-Nissan money.

[man] Let's go disco.

[dramatic hip-hop song playing]

♪ I got that silver vibe ♪

♪ Yeah, I be shinin' bright ♪

♪ Got the whole world like "Wow"
I'll take that seat now ♪

♪ I hustle, hustle right
I hustle, hustle left ♪

♪ Yeah, we takin' over
Cleanin' up the mess ♪

♪ So gimme more, gimme more
Yeah, I'm sweeter than the king ♪

♪ Hear me roar, hear me roar
Yeah, we make sure they awake ♪

♪ We be hype
We be friends who ride or die ♪

- ♪ We be mad, we be loud… ♪
- [crowd clapping]

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
good evening and welcome.

[Gigandet in French] At this point,
you invite the people

who have contributed to this alliance,

not just some friends and, I don't know,

some VIPs and celebrities,
such as Cherie Blair.

[in English] And, yes, he did invite
a few friends and family,

but only 95 came out of…

Like, there must have been…

At least 150 people in total,

and there were definitely

at least three people
who work for the alliance there.

[hip-hop music continues]

Of course, to do
the anniversary of the alliance,

we invite Louis Schweitzer.

No. I was not invited to that anniversary
of the Renault-Nissan alliance.

- [hip-hop song continues]
- ♪ Yeah, we be up in them stars ♪

♪ Shinin' on the ground ♪

♪ We be mad, mad hype
Sucker, we come around ♪

♪ We be pickin' them pictures
Showin' them how we do ♪

♪ We be sweeter than wine ♪

♪ So gimme more, gimme more
Yeah, I'm sweeter than the king ♪

♪ So take my picture, take my picture
Take my picture, take my picture… ♪

[song continues]

[in French] It was over the top.

It was inappropriate at the very least.

[in Japanese] My first reaction was,
"Is he an idiot?"

[laughing]

I couldn't believe it.

[Andy Palmer in English] Basically,
from the board level down,

we used to buy our own stationery.

I mean, Ghosn had been brilliant in…

Instilling this frugality
into the company,

but then it didn't jive well
with what people were seeing,

this gulf between
the frugal behavior of the employees

and the apparent opulence
of Ghosn's lifestyle.

The Versailles parties,

the World Cup tickets, etc.

The private airplane.

This lack of separation
between work and play.

[Saikawa] From Nissan's viewpoint,
you know,

it was obvious that he spent
less and less time and energy

for Nissan compared to before.

And this is an important point

that his leadership at Nissan
is becoming less shiny.

[Ghosn] To allow me
to continue to focus on Nissan

and on maintaining Nissan's momentum
in delivering performance,

I have proposed to the Nissan board,
which has agreed,

that Hiroto Saikawa be promoted to
the position of Chief Executive Officer.

Saikawa obviously became CEO
when Ghosn became Chairman.

The fact, though, was that Ghosn wasn't
really playing the role of Chairman.

He was really still very much
in control of the company.

[Baduel in French]
I took an interest in Renault

because of the behavior of its CEO.

You're dealing with someone
who appears to be both a cost killer,

so someone who reduces overhead costs,

who is simultaneously setting up,
overseas, out of sight of everyone,

namely Renault and Nissan shareholders,

a giant piggy bank.

[in English] My understanding is that, um…

A scheme... Oh, I've gotta be careful here.

- [producer] Yeah, sure.
- I've gotta be really careful.

But, yeah, my understanding is that
certain companies were set up,

and the purpose of those companies
was to invest monies in new enterprises

so that Nissan would have
an advantage in particular industries.

A lot of car companies have them now.

And, basically,
it's the ability to invest in start-ups

and in slightly riskier ventures.

So a whole host of money
is then put into it.

But instead of it being set up,
it being used for tech funds,

you have a whole host
of rotating directors, right?

And the money actually
being spent on different things.

And I was one of the directors.

As it was set up,

it was a fund that was basically managed
out of Amsterdam.

I think the implication is

deliberate obfuscation
for the purposes of…

Ulterior motives.

So making things really complicated

so nobody really understands
what's going on.

Moving people around
and doing something else.

[Baduel in French] He organized

some schemes

that allowed him to embezzle
huge sums of money

to buy villas, to buy a yacht,

to buy jewelry.

[in English] Now it transpires, allegedly,

that some of those funds were used
for buying houses and what have you,

but I have no knowledge of that.

[producer] So how much money
was put into the fund?

- I don't recall, I'm afraid.
- [producer] No?

But it wasn't small.

[producer] It's not
like tens of thousands.

No, it's millions.

[Baduel in French] We can estimate the
value of the properties purchased abroad

by Mr. Ghosn, under the guise of entities,

and the sums add up to serious amounts.

[Hara in Japanese] I think he
was a magician in the sense that

he had so much money to work with…

That he was a mastermind
at creating a system

that allowed him to do
with it what he will.

[producer in English] What were
the conditions that made it possible

for all these wrongdoings
to sort of not get picked up

before they became really serious?

Hmm. That's a good question.

And, actually, you know, I wasn't aware,

and quite many people are not aware.

And we have to admit that
this kind of wrongdoing was done

without being detected.

[in Japanese] I hate to say this,

but in my opinion,

the executives at Nissan
completely relied on Mr. Ghosn.

They were overly dependent on him.

No one criticized him,
and let him do what he wanted.

[Ghosn in English] The houses
all belong to Nissan and say,

"Oh my God, we are discovering this!
You've done it secretly!" Secretly?

Let me show you the documents.

This is a document signed

by the two representative directors
of Nissan, Greg Kelly and Hiroto Saikawa.

"Use of company,
residential accommodation."

"Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Beirut, Lebanon."

So when I hear
that everybody was surprised,

and we were doing this hidden,
I said, "Oh, my God!"

But the fact is, you know,
the, uh… You know

I trusted Mr. Ghosn,
and I trusted his team, and…

So, you know, the…

It's not my agenda to make suspicion.

I'm tasked with helping the investigation
into the alleged misconduct of Ghosn.

And as we go along,
we see certain executives

have been involved
in certain elements of the misconduct.

As matters progressed,

we see various layer upon layer
being revealed.

And what I do is

I explain this
to the head of the audit committee,

so I'm blowing the whistle, so to say.

If the board say, "Don't worry, Rav.
We've got it under control."

"Thanks very much, but your concerns,
we've considered them."

"We don't need to do anything more."

It's great. All well and good.

I've done my job. They've done their job.

But that doesn't happen.
It just goes eerily silent.

Within a matter of three days,
I'm removed from the Ghosn investigation.

I'm told that after eight years
of being in Japan,

I have to go back home.

Yeah, I lose my job, in essence.

Then you have to think,
is the barrel rotten?

And if the barrel's rotten…

Well, it's game over then, isn't it?

[static buzzing]

[narrator] Mr. Ghosn was asked to stay on
for a few more years

to take the Renault-Nissan alliance
to the next step.

Now, most people
would call this next step a merger,

but Mr. Ghosn and his communication team
were very careful not to use that word.

[on video] Probably one of the reasons
for which I'm in this situation today

is because I accepted this offer

to continue to integrate
the two companies,

converge the two companies.

[in Japanese] However,
from Nissan's perspective,

I believe they concluded
that they wouldn't gain anything

from merging with Renault.

[in English] I said clearly several times
that I was against a merger.

I am a pro-alliance guy,
but I don't support a merger.

That was my position.

[Ghosn on video] Unfortunately,
there was no trust.

And some of our Japanese friends thought

the only way to get rid of
the influence of Renault on Nissan

is to get rid of me.

Carlos Ghosn is like a prostate exam
for the Japanese people.

Right now, they know it's healthy,
they know it's necessary,

but it's still a goddamn indignity

to have someone shove their hand
up your ass.

And, eventually, they are going to react

rather violently against this.

Well, he managed for 19 years
before they finally reacted.

But, boy, did they react!

[reporter] One of the world's
most influential businessmen

has been arrested in Tokyo
on suspicion of financial misconduct.

[reporter in Arabic] Carlos Ghosn,

Chairman of the Board of Directors
of Nissan, Japan…

[reporter in French] The emblematic CEO
of Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn,

was arrested in Japan today.

[reporter in English] Nissan says it has
been investigating Ghosn for months.

He's accused of using company money
for personal use.

[on video] I came down from the airplane.
I was taken in a car.

I arrived to the passport.

They told me there's a problem
with my visa.

You cannot use anymore your phone,
and then I was arrested.

I don't understand what's going on.

[in Japanese] My thought was,
"So he was finally arrested."

[Ghosn in English] Can I at least give
a phone call to Nissan to send a lawyer?

But obviously I didn't know
that Nissan was behind it.

And it was all staged way before!
Between the prosecutor and the company.

[Gigandet in French] What's incredible is

that the TV stations in Japan
had been warned

that he was going to be arrested,
and they were there waiting for him.

[reporter in English] Shares in Nissan
and Renault are plunging.

I was in a big seminar of the company.
At 10:00, we go drink coffee.

I open my phone. Wow!

- [overlapping conversations]
- [reporter] Fraudulent misconduct…

It's clear somebody wanted him in jail.

[reporter] It all started
with a Nissan internal investigation

after a whistleblower report.

Carlos Ghosn's top executive, Greg Kelly,
has also been arrested.

[on video] It took five hours
between my arrest

and me finding myself
in a tiny cell in Kosuge.

And once you're arrested,
you're in big trouble in Japan, right?

You're presumed to be guilty
in many, many respects.

[sighs] How can I say?

I still have, like…
Even when I talk about it, it hurts here.

Like, you get stiff.

And we were sure

I was sure it was a mistake,

and the next day he would be out,

because, I mean, what can happen?

[on video] And I've been told
this is totally legal.

How can it be legal?

[Lacombe in French] I remember running
Japanese articles through Google Translate

to try and understand what was happening.

We started to understand things

when we saw Hiroto Saikawa's
press conference.

That's when we realized
something incredible was happening.

It was like Game of Thrones,
Nissan edition.

It was just totally crazy.

[in Japanese] We are furious…

And for me personally.

I feel strong disappointment.

The problem is one person
having so much power.

It's the dark side of the Ghosn era
that lasted many years.

[Saikawa in English] Some people again
said I, Saikawa, betrayed Carlos Ghosn,

but I didn't at all.

It was him that betrayed my trust.

This is what I want to say.

I didn't sign up for this.

I signed up for being a lawyer
for a car company.

I didn't sign up to be involved

in some strange, international conspiracy

or wrongdoing, especially in Japan.

[helicopter whirring]

[in Japanese]
In Japan, among those who are…

Charged with a crime,

99% of them are found guilty.

[Ghosn in English on video]
The legitimacy of a justice system

should not rest on its conviction rate,

but instead on the confidence
that it searches for an honest truth

and dispenses fair and just outcomes.

[in Japanese]
In Japan, if someone is arrested…

That person's life is over.

[in English on video] 130 days in prison,
solitary confinement,

tiny cell without a window,

shower twice a week.

Tried to ask to have more. They said no.

Interrogated day and night.

It can happen in the morning,
in the afternoon, at night,

up to eight hours
without the presence of a lawyer.

So I felt, from the beginning,

that there was no interest
in finding the truth.

[cell door clangs]

[Takano in Japanese] I met him for the
very first time on February 14th, 2019.

It was Valentine's Day.

By that time, he had been
in custody for three months already.

Mr. Ghosn was questioned every day
after he was arrested.

The questionings are not
the kind of conversations

one might have over tea and cake.

[Ghosn in English on video] "It will get
worse for you if you don't just confess,"

the prosecutor told me repeatedly.

"If you don't confess,
not only are we gonna go after you,

we're gonna go after your family."

[in Japanese] Lawyers in Japan
often refer to this arrangement

as the "hostage justice."

It's a world where time moves backwards.

A character named the White Queen
appears in Alice in Wonderland.

And the White Queen's world
moves backwards in time.

That's exactly how
a trial is held in Japan.

Punishment comes first.

Then comes the trial.

Then they're judged at the very end.

So time really moves backwards.

[in English on video]
I was the hostage of a country

that I have served for 17 years.

Yeah. In the end, there's one thing
about the knives being out for you

because nobody wants you
in that job anymore,

but then there is putting you in a prison.

I mean…

That's just a different level altogether.

Unless, of course, you deserve it.

Um…

Yeah.

[Beydoun] He sent the message
with the consulate ambassadors,

"Don't talk to no one."

"Don't go anywhere,
and be careful with phone calls."

Really, I would say
we were kind of scared.

I would tell my cousin, "Come on!"

I mean, "Let's find someone.
Get him out of it. That's the only way."

[tense music playing]

[dark music playing]

[Takano in Japanese]
After many negotiations with the court,

he was released
on bail of one billion yen.

At the time, we negotiated
with the detention house

so we could get him out the back door.

But for some reason,
Tokyo Detention House didn't approve it.

We dressed up Mr. Carlos Ghosn
in a Japanese workman's outfit.

Then we loaded him
onto a small truck upon his release.

[Ando] His disguise

was just so pitiful…

The fact that his disguise was
basically visible proof that he was

not on the side of justice,

made me feel extremely sad.

[dark music continues]

[Fumiaki Kurioka]
You hardly ever get a chance to

chase a foreigner,
let alone someone famous like Ghosn.

I never dreamt I'd do such a thing.

After he was released on bail,

my job as a tabloid journalist
was to follow his every move.

- [intriguing music playing]
- [indistinct chatter]

[Kurioka] It was absolute chaos back then.

It was basically a media scrum.

- [reporters clamoring]
- [car honking]

[Kurioka] We chronicled
his daily activities for a whole year,

but we never saw him drive a Nissan.

[intriguing music continues]

[intriguing music continues]

[camera clicking]

[Kurioka] He knew
that he was constantly being watched.

[Takano] There was a surveillance camera

installed at the entrance of his house.

So anyone that visited him,
the exact time he left the house,

were all recorded as footage.

[intriguing music continues]

[Kurioka] The mastermind
of the escape was Michael Taylor,

a former American special forces agent

who must have organized a network of
ex-combat and private security personnel

to help him research
the elaborate escape plan.

I think he was already planning his escape

when he was released on bail.

That's what I believe.

I heard that whenever he met with anyone,

he usually met them at the Grand Hyatt.

Sometimes he went by car,

and sometimes he walked.

It's not an exaggeration to say
he went out every day.

So the pictures and videos
all started to look the same.

He wanted the investigators and guards

to think going to the Grand Hyatt
was part of his daily routine

and that he wasn't going
for any special reason.

I'm guessing that he even knew

where all the cameras were placed.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Takano] At the time, he wasn't allowed

to communicate with anyone
involved in the case.

So, according
to the final bail conditions,

Carlos Ghosn

couldn't meet, talk,
or even send letters to his wife Carol.

That condition was added.

I found it extremely difficult
to have to inform him

of this condition.

[dark music playing]

[reporters clamoring]

[reporter in English] Mr. Ghosn,
do you have a message

for the people supporting you?

[in French] We ask the president
to put pressure on the Japanese government

to respect human rights
and the right to a defense

or to let Carlos be tried in France.

[interviewer] You want him
to be tried in France?

I think so, because we can see
that he won't get a fair trial in Japan.

[in Japanese]
No matter how many times we tried,

the date of the trial was never settled.

Faced with this situation,

Ghosn wondered how long
he'd have to be in Japan.

He started asking
when the trial would happen

and whether he would be able

to receive a fair trial.

He began to ask this often.

[in English] All the signs that there was
no way I was going to be treated fairly.

It's not very difficult
to come to the conclusion

you're gonna die in Japan
or you're gonna have to get out.

[reporter in Arabic]
After he got arrested,

posters appeared in Beirut supporting
the Lebanese businessman Carlos Ghosn.

[in French] You can't
understand Carlos Ghosn,

his motivation, what drives him,
this desire to succeed,

this desire to win
and to show that he's the best,

without understanding
the pain of his childhood.

We found an article
about Father Boulos Massaad,

who was found dead
one evening in April 1960.

- [gun firing]
- [Lacombe] He was shot twice.

And near the scene the crime

a Peugeot belonging
to Carlos Ghosn's father was seen.

What we came to understand

is that the priest, Boulos Massaad,
was being used by George Ghosn

to smuggle diamonds from Africa.

He was tried and sentenced to death.

Then in the mid-1970s,
civil war had just broken out in Lebanon.

He managed to escape from prison
and found refuge in Brazil.

You can imagine,

spending his childhood with his father
in prison accused of murder,

even sentenced to death
for murdering a priest,

would be really hard.

Carlos Ghosn created his own legend
his whole life.

ONE LAST SECRET

[Lacombe] The account of a life
that wasn't exactly the one he lived.

So he probably felt this need

to show all the people he grew up with,

to say to them, "Look how successful
I've become in spite of my background,

in spite of my father's story,
of my life."

"There you go.
I've achieved great things."

[Matsumoto in Japanese] I saw him
for the last time on the 26th.

He came up to me and said,

"Keiko…"
[in English] "I'm going to pay you."

[in Japanese] I was surprised because
he didn't have to pay me yet.

But he asked for all my receipts

and paid me.

He told me to choose any wine I wanted

and he gifted me two bottles.

He asked to take a picture together.

He'd never asked before,
so it made me very happy.

He even gave me a hug.

He's not usually
the type of person who gives hugs.

So I think he gave me a hug because

he was going to run.

He knew it was the last time,

so he gave me the gift, the hug,
and even took a picture with me.

It made me happy.

[drill whirring faintly]

[drill whirring loudly]

[indistinct police radio chatter]

[Kurioka] On the 29th, Michael Taylor

flew into Kansai International Airport
from Dubai on a private jet.

[Ghosn in English]
Japanese people are very organized.

When you are organized,
you're predictable.

When you are predictable,
it's your weakness.

[Kurioka in Japanese] Carlos Ghosn
left his house at 2:30 p.m. on the 29th.

[in Arabic] I left the house
wearing normal clothes.

So if someone saw me on the street,
they would recognize me.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Kurioka in Japanese]
Ghosn arrived at the Grand Hyatt.

[suspenseful music continues]

[suspenseful music continues]

[Ghosn in Arabic] When I left the hotel,
I wore something I don't usually wear.

[Kurioka in Japanese] He met
with his three accomplices at the hotel.

[Ghosn in Arabic] I left the hotel
to go to the airport,

which means you have
to take a taxi, then the train.

[indistinct chatter]

[suspenseful music continues]

[Ghosn] You'll be on the train for two
or three hours surrounded by people.

You mustn't draw attention.

There was no way I could walk
through the airport with my face.

[intriguing music playing]

[Kurioka in Japanese] At Shin-Osaka,
they took another taxi.

From there…

They headed to the hotel
that Michael Taylor had reserved,

which is connected to
Kansai International Airport.

[intriguing music continues]

[Ghosn in Lebanese] I had to get
on the plane without anyone seeing me.

How do you get on a plane
without being seen? The check-in baggage.

[in English] Time to go home.

[Kurioka in Japanese] From that moment on,

Carlos Ghosn did not appear
on any CCTV cameras.

You can say he disappeared.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Kurioka] When they left the hotel,

it was around 10:00 p.m.,

9:57 p.m. to be precise.

[Ghosn in Lebanese] The issue
was to get on the plane, inside a box,

without going through the X-ray.

We decided Osaka would be the right place.

And it also had to be done
at the end of the year.

Why? Because people go on holiday then.

So permanent staff are away,
and they're replaced by temporary staff.

Temporary staff aren't
as knowledgeable on procedures.

[suspenseful music continues]

- [thud]
- [latch clanks]

- [car door opens and closes]
- [indistinct muffled chatter]

[worker 1 in Japanese] It took
about four to five people including myself

to lift the large box.

[laughs] One of the staff members joked,

"Maybe there's a
beautiful young woman in the box."

[workers grunt]

[worker 2] Mr. Taylor told me

they were violinists,

[chuckles]
but I did feel that it was strange.

The two men had a guitar case
instead of a violin case.

[dramatic music playing]

[case rolling]

[Ghosn breathing]

[Kurioka] The crucial stage
was getting through security.

This was the moment
Ghosn was most likely to be discovered.

It was vital the box
did not go through the X-ray machine.

[indistinct chatter]

[Ghosn breathing]

[Ghosn in Lebanese] When you are
at a point in your life

[in French] when it's all or nothing

[in English] I need
to be totally concentrated

[in Lebanese] to know how to react
in case something happens.

[in English] You are living in the moment,
intensely in the moment.

So maybe we'll just shoot on...

Oh, no!
No, it's a delicate musical instrument.

It can't go through the scanner.
I'm sure you understand.

It's acoustically perfect.

[continues muffled]
We have a couple of performances,

so we have to take it on tour.

We can open it, but we cannot lift it.
This is…

[suspenseful music playing]

[tense music playing]

[Ghosn breathing]

[Ghosn] The 30 minutes
waiting in the box in the plane,

waiting for the plane to take off,

were probably the longest period of wait
I've ever experienced in my life.

[plane preparing for takeoff]

[upbeat music playing]

[Ghosn] It was bold.

It was gutsy, but it worked.

[music fades]

[reporter 1] The ousted
Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn

has fled house arrest in Tokyo.

[reporter 2] He fled Japan while awaiting
trial on financial misconduct charges.

[reporter 3 in Arabic] The surprising,
exciting events in Carlos Ghosn's story…

[reporter 4 in English] We have the latest
on the former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn,

who's somehow fleeing Japan
while awaiting trial…

Thank God. Thank God it worked.

It's like the energy came back, you know?

It's like putting some electroshock
on you, and the nurse wakes up,

and the thing,
and I was telling my husband,

"Oh, my God! He's in Lebanon!
He's in Lebanon! My God."

"It's finished.
The nightmare is finished."

Hopefully, you know.

[crying in Japanese] I was happy for him
and wanted to cheer for him.

He could finally see his family.

I was truly happy for him.

I shed tears of joy for him.

But at the same time, I was sad.

But I think it was tears of joy.

[reporter 1 in English] Former Nissan
Chairman Carlos Ghosn is now in Lebanon,

issuing a statement saying quote,

"I am now in Lebanon
and will no longer be held hostage

by a rigged Japanese justice system,

where guilt is presumed"

[reporter 2] "discrimination is rampant,
and basic human rights are denied."

We'll be having more of that story…

[dark music playing]

[Ghosn] Today is
a very important day for me.

One that I have looked forward to
every single day

- since this nightmare began.
- Mmm.

The fact is that Mr. Ghosn
escaped before he went to trial.

So, until now, nobody knows for sure
if he did anything actually illegal.

[in Japanese] I judged that
the evidence was not strong enough

to find him guilty.

If he really stands
on the side of justice,

why did he have to go so far

as to hide in
a miserable black box to flee?

I feel quite disappointed.

[in French] Now he is stuck forever.

And he's lost all his power,
lost everything he loved.

He's become the naked king,
completely naked.

[dark music continues]

[in English] I'm ready to stay
a long time in Lebanon,

but please do not consider
that I'll just accept this as it is.

I'm gonna fight
because I have to clear my name,

and this is something
which is extremely important to me.

I can't accept the fact
that fabricating stories

and lying about something
at such a scale can win or can prevail.

I can't accept it,
particularly as this is my story.

[dark music continues]

[upbeat music playing]