He was once a titan of the car industry who held hero status in Japan. He then became one of the country’s most well-known criminal suspects. Now he’s an international fugitive. Carlos Ghosn, the multi-millionaire former boss of Nissan, spent months preparing to stand trial on financial misconduct charges. At least, that was what the Japanese authorities were led to believe. He posted 1bn yen (£6.8m; $8.9m) in bail in April. He was monitored by a 24-hour camera installed outside his house. His use of technology was heavily restricted and he was banned from travelling abroad. Then, in a move that left Japan red-faced and his own legal team baffled, he appeared in Lebanon on New Year’s Eve. “I have escaped injustice and political persecution,” he declared in a statement. “We were completely caught by surprise. I am dumbfounded,” his lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, told a crowd of reporters in Tokyo shortly after learning of Mr Ghosn’s flight. “I want to ask him, ‘How could you do this to us?'” Another pressing question is: how did he do it at all? One Lebanese TV channel – MTV – reported that Mr Ghosn had fled his court-approved residence in Tokyo with the assistance of a paramilitary group who were disguised amongst a band of musicians. It said the band had performed at his house and, shortly after they had finished, the 65-year-old hid himself in a large musical instrument case which was then hurried to a local airport. If this really happened, it may have been a tight squeeze even for Mr Ghosn, whose height is reported at 5ft 6in (167cm). According to the MTV story, he then flew to Turkey, before arriving in Lebanon on a private jet. The broadcaster provided no proof for this theory which, unsurprisingly, spread rapidly across social media. The former CEO’s getaway from Tokyo to Beirut was meticulously planned over a period of several weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper, which cited a number of unidentified sources, said a team was carefully assembled to carry out the plot. The group reportedly included accomplices in Japan who transported Mr Ghosn from his house and onto a private jet bound for Istanbul. From there, he continued his journey to Beirut where he arrived in the early hours of 30 December. The plane tracking site FlightRadar24 showed a a Bombardier Challenger private jet arriving at Beirut-Rafic Hariri international airport shortly after 04:00 local time. Mr Ghosn then met his wife Carole, who was born in the city and was heavily involved in the operation, the Wall Street Journal says. The embarrassment caused by Mr Ghosn’s flight soon sparked a reaction from Japan. One Japanese politician asked whether he “had the support of some country”. A former governor of Tokyo was more forthright, accusing Lebanon of direct involvement. “The government has nothing to do with [Mr Ghosn’s] decision to come,” Lebanese minister Salim Jreissati was quoted as saying by the New York Times. “We don’t know the circumstances of his arrival.” France and Turkey have also said they were unaware of Mr Ghosn’s plan. There is no extradition deal between Japan and Lebanon, which means the future of Mr Ghosn’s trial is now fraught with uncertainty. Nick Note: I salute Ghosen…. No way in hell can you get a fair trial in America or japan. Just for the record the US has the highest incarceration and conviction rate for white collar crime in the world. Even more then in Japan. Tens of millions and hundreds of millions is not enough. The only people i have seen avoid federal prosecution for crimes they obviously committed are people who did runners like Mark Rich (later pardoned by Clinton for a payoff) and billionaire bankers. Federal Prosecutes have more dirty tricks then a Los Vegas casino. Its a rigged game. I had a federal prosecutor tell me (“The guilty are easy to convict but he especially enjoyed prosecuting the innocent” They will drag out the case out to run you out of money. They will prejudice the jury pool. One trick is they have a business publication that is sent to the jury pool that just happens to do a disinformation story on you. They will get their cronies in the media to out and out lie about you. They will look for your enemies like your xWife and get dirt on you real or not they do not care., And everyone is against you Freinds neighbors and especially your lawyer who will milk you dry. (my clients are innocent until proven broke). They will shut down your business, bank accounts and cash flow. Scare off your banks and business associates and freeze your money and assets without any proof of a crime. The will get your associates to testify against you and lie their asses off on fear that they will face charges. Its worse then the inquisition. What Ghosen did was the smartest move imaginable……..