BEIRUT —
Nissan’s fugitive ex-boss Carlos Ghosn vowed to defend his name wherever he can get a fair trial at his first public appearance since being smuggled out of Japan last week, saying Wednesday he had fled a “nightmare” that would not end.
Ghosn spoke to a room packed with journalists for more than two hours in the Lebanese capital, where he arrived after jumping $14 million bail despite supposedly rigorous surveillance — a bold and improbable escape that embarrassed Japanese authorities and has allowed him to evade trial on charges of financial misconduct.
Combative, spirited, and at times rambling, he described conditions of detention in Japan that made him feel “dead … like an animal” in a country where he asserted he had “zero chance” of a fair trial.
“For the first time since this nightmare began, I can defend myself, speak freely and answer your questions,” Ghosn said. “I didn’t run from justice, I left Japan because I wanted justice.”
Japan’s justice minister was quick to defend the criminal justice system against his criticism. Masako Mori told reporters Thursday morning in Tokyo that Ghosn’s comments were unfounded and she wanted to prevent his spreading an “erroneous” understanding abroad.
With big gestures and a five-part slide presentation, Ghosn brought his case to the global media in a performance that at times resembled a corporate presentation. His one thought before fleeing, he said: “You are going to die in Japan or you are going to get out.”
But he made clear the question most on everyone’s minds would remain unanswered: An account of the daring escape that saw him spirited from Japan to Turkey and from there to Beirut.
Media reports have said that he slipped out of his Tokyo residence alone, despite being under surveillance. He met two men at a hotel, and then took a bullet train to Osaka before boarding a private jet hidden inside a musical equipment case. He flew to Istanbul and was then transferred onto another plane bound for Beirut, where he arrived Dec. 30.
Ghosn said he knew the escape attempt would be “disastrous” if it didn’t work. But “there was a little chance I succeed. I played it, and I’m very happy for making that choice,” he told French TF1 TV.
He described the decision to escape as “the most difficult in his life,” even though he said he was used to “mission impossible.”
He said he made up his mind when –aside from denying him evidence, visits from his wife and holding him in solitary confinement for over 130 days– the judges kept postponing his trial. His lawyers had hoped it would begin in April, but he was told it would be postponed again.
Ghosn portrayed his arrest in late 2018 as a plot linked to a decline in the financial performance of Nissan Motor Co. as the Japanese automaker resisted losing autonomy to French partner Renault. Ghosn had been in favour of an alliance between Nissan and industry ally Renault, of which he was also chairman. He denied Wednesday he was seeking a full merger.
Ghosn also attacked Japanese prosecutors, saying they were “aided and abated by petty, vindictive and lawless individuals” in the government, Nissan and its law firm. He said it was them, not him, “who are destroying Japan’s reputation on the global stage.”
He went on to dismiss all allegations of financial wrongdoing against him as “untrue and baseless.”
“I should never have been arrested in the first place,” he said. “I’m not above the law and I welcome the opportunity for the truth to come out and have my name cleared.”
In a swift reply, the Tokyo public prosecutor’s office said: “Defendant Ghosn’s allegations that the prosecution was conspired by Nissan and Public Prosecutors Office is categorically false and completely contrary to fact.”
Ghosn, who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian citizenship, said he would be ready to stand trial “anywhere where I think I can have a fair trial.” He declined to say where that might be.
He thanked the Lebanese authorities for their hospitality and defended its judicial system, which has long faced accusations of corruption and favouritism.
The French government initially appeared to stand by Ghosn — as did Renault when it kept him on before finally choosing a replacement in January 2019. But in recent days French officials have hardened their stance, calling Ghosn a “defendant like any other” and saying he should face justice in a court of law.
Ghosn said he didn’t need anything from France, but when asked if he felt abandoned by it, he responded: “How would you feel if you were in my place?”
There was no reaction from the French government or Renault to Ghosn’s remarks.
However, union members at Renault, which has seen its market value tumble over the past year, said Ghosn “did not produce any factual, verifiable evidence for his defence.”
Fielding reporters’ questions as he switched from English to French to Arabic to Portuguese, Ghosn appeared at times bitter and at others relaxed as he joked with the roomful of journalists and some friends.
Lebanon last week received an Interpol-issued wanted notice — a non-binding request to law enforcement agencies worldwide that they locate and provisionally arrest a fugitive.
Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition treaty, and the Interpol notice does not require Lebanon to arrest him. Lebanese authorities have said Ghosn entered the country on a legal passport, casting doubt on the possibility they would hand him over to Japan.
At the request of the Japanese government, Interpol published the notice on its website Wednesday as Ghosn was giving his news conference.
Signalling that Ghosn’s legal troubles may not be done, Lebanon’s chief prosecutor summoned the ex-auto executive to his office Thursday over the Interpol notice. Separately, he faces possible legal action over a visit to Israel in 2008 after two Lebanese lawyers submitted a report to the Public Prosecutor’s Office saying the trip violated Lebanese law. The two neighbouring countries are technically in a state of war.
At Wednesday’s news conference, Ghosn apologized to the Lebanese, saying he never wished to offend anyone when he travelled to Israel as a French national after Nissan asked him to announce the launch of electric cars there.
On Tuesday, Tokyo prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant for Ghosn’s Lebanese wife Carole on suspicion of perjury, a charge unrelated to his escape. However, Japanese justice officials acknowledge that it’s unclear whether the Ghosns can be brought back to Japan to face charges.
Nissan has said it was still pursuing legal action against Ghosn despite his escape. And in France, Renault alerted French authorities after an investigation found that Ghosn personally benefited from “an exchange worth 50,000 euros” related to a philanthropic accord signed with the Palace of Versailles. Prosecutors are investigating but Ghosn is not charged with any wrongdoing in France.
Earlier in the day, Tokyo prosecutors raided a Japanese lawyer’s office Ghosn had visited regularly before he fled. Japanese media reports said prosecutors investigating his escape and who might have helped him had likely seized a computer Ghosn was allowed to use there.
Of the trajectory that brought him from house arrest in Tokyo to a reunion with his family in Beirut, the fallen auto industry executive told reporters Wednesday: “The nightmare started with when I saw the face of the prosecutor and ended with the face of my wife.”
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Associated Press writers Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo and Angela Charlton and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report.
Correction:
This story CORRECTS that Ghosn’s trial date in Japan had not been set
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
