Turkey detains pilots over ex-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn's escape through Istanbul - New York Post

Turkish authorities on Thursday detained seven people – including four pilots – as part of the widening probe into former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn’s wild escape from Japan as he transited through Istanbul en route to Lebanon.

The other people held were two airport ground workers and one cargo worker, a police spokeswoman told Reuters, which reported that the accused embezzler had arrived in Beirut on a private jet from Istanbul on Monday.

Meanwhile, Japanese prosecutors raided the accused embezzler’s Tokyo home after he skipped bail while on house arrest and was smuggled out of the country in a musical instrument case.

The Turkish Hurriyet news outlet, citing an interior ministry official, said border police were not notified about Ghosn’s arrival — and that neither his entry nor exit were registered, according to Reuters.

A plane carrying Ghosn arrived at 5:30 a.m. Monday in Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, Hurriyet reported, adding that prosecutors ordered the arrests after widening their investigation.

Flight tracking data indicates that Ghosn used two different planes to fly into Istanbul and then continue to Lebanon.

Japanese authorities allowed Ghosn — who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship — to carry a spare French passport in a locked case while out on bail, public broadcaster NHK reported Thursday.

Ghosn, who was first arrested in Tokyo in November 2018, faces four charges, including hiding income and enriching himself through payments to car dealerships in the Middle East.

He has repeatedly denied the charges, saying authorities trumped up the charges to prevent a possible fuller merger between Nissan and alliance partner Renault SA. He is expected to address the media next week.

On Tuesday, Ghosn said in a statement that he left for Lebanon because he thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid “political persecution.”

Lebanese officials have said that Ghosn entered the country legally, and that there was no reason to take action against him.

Selim Jreissati, the Lebanese minister for presidential affairs, told the An-Nahar newspaper that Ghosn entered with a French passport and Lebanese ID.

A court in Tokyo had allowed Ghosn to keep a second French passport as he needed one to travel inside Japan, a source told Agence France-Presse on Thursday.

“He had to keep this passport” to prove his short-stay status, the source said. “There was permission from the court.”

The Japanese government is likely to ask Lebanon to extradite Ghosn through diplomatic channels, though Beirut has no extradition accord with Tokyo.

The French government on Thursday said it would not extradite Ghosn if he arrived in the country because it does not extradite its nationals.

With Post wires

Share this:

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiX2h0dHBzOi8vbnlwb3N0LmNvbS8yMDIwLzAxLzAyL3R1cmtleS1kZXRhaW5zLXBpbG90cy1vdmVyLWNhcmxvcy1naG9zbnMtZXNjYXBlLXRocm91Z2gtaXN0YW5idWwv0gFjaHR0cHM6Ly9ueXBvc3QuY29tLzIwMjAvMDEvMDIvdHVya2V5LWRldGFpbnMtcGlsb3RzLW92ZXItY2FybG9zLWdob3Nucy1lc2NhcGUtdGhyb3VnaC1pc3RhbmJ1bC9hbXAv?oc=5

2020-01-02 13:03:00Z
52780529986448

5 things to know before the stock market opens on the first trading day of 2020 - CNBC

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

1. Wall Street's 2019 rally set to continue in 2020

U.S. stock futures pointed to a strong start to the first trading session of 2020 as Wall Street carried its momentum from 2019. As of 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up more than 150 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also indicated solid gains. Stocks had a banner year in 2019, with the S&P 500 rallying more than 28%. The Dow and Nasdaq jumped 22% and 35%, respectively, in 2019. To be sure, the New Year presents new challenges for investors as the 2020 U.S. presidential election looms.

2. China cuts key rate

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), attends a news conference at the Great Hall of the People during the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, China, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017.

Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The People's Bank of China announced on Wednesday it lowered the reserve requirement ratio for the country's banks by 50 basis points. This move is expected to inject 800 billion yuan in liquidity to the Chinese economy. The announcement lifted sentiment across global equities as Asian stock markets ended mostly higher overnight. In Europe, the French CAC 40 jumped 1.4% while the German Dax gained 0.9%.

3. Tesla shares jump on big price-target bump

Elon Musk attends the groundbreaking ceremony of the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai, east China, on January 7, 2019.

Ding Ting | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

Shares of the electric car maker jumped more than 1.6% in the premarket after an analyst at Canaccord Genuity hiked his price target to $515 per share from $418 per share. The new price target implies a 12-month upside of 23% and is the highest among major Wall Street brokerages. "While bears have feared demand issues as a function of tax credit expiration for Tesla, we suspect a solid Q4 combined with the robust Q3 should put these fears to rest and put to rest this issue as the credit expires," the analyst said in a note. Tesla shares are coming off a strong 2019, rising 25.7% in that time.

4. Carlos Ghosn reportedly had a spare French passport while on bail

Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Co., gestures as he speaks during a news conference in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on Thursday, May 12, 2016.

Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Japanese public broadcaster NHK said ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn was allowed to carry a spare French passport while out on bail in Japan. The news shed some light on how Ghosn managed to escape Japan. Earlier this week, Ghosn said he left Japan to escape a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed." Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in late 2018 on charges of hiding income and enriching himself.

5. Bernie Sanders raises more than $34 million in the fourth quarter

Sen. Bernie Sanders holds a campaign rally in Detroit, October 27, 2019.

Rebecca Cook | Reuters

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNuYmMuY29tLzIwMjAvMDEvMDIvNS10aGluZ3MtdG8ta25vdy1iZWZvcmUtdGhlLXN0b2NrLW1hcmtldC1vcGVucy1vbi1qYW51YXJ5LTEtMjAyMC5odG1s0gFpaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY25iYy5jb20vYW1wLzIwMjAvMDEvMDIvNS10aGluZ3MtdG8ta25vdy1iZWZvcmUtdGhlLXN0b2NrLW1hcmtldC1vcGVucy1vbi1qYW51YXJ5LTEtMjAyMC5odG1s?oc=5

2020-01-02 13:27:00Z
52780529590160

Irrational exuberance? Why last year’s stellar returns may have been a reversal of ‘excessive pessimism’ - MarketWatch

On the first working day of 2020, let’s take a moment to appreciate the virtues of a vice: laziness.

Say what you will about new year’s resolutions, but last year, letting a boring old S&P 500-tracking index fund do its work was one of the best investment decisions around.

Including dividend reinvestment, the S&P 500 SPX, +0.29%  returned 33% in 2019, outperforming virtually every national index and very nearly every investment strategy.

For the decade, according to Deutsche Bank, the S&P 500 returned a cool 256%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.30%  returned 347%.

So the obvious question is, can the gains continue?

Tim Duy, a University of Oregon professor who closely tracks the Federal Reserve, plotted the return of the S&P 500 on a logarithmic scale to show that the current gains are nothing like the acceleration from the late 1990s.

“This doesn’t surprise me as I think fears of financial excess are overplayed, effectively a case of fighting the last war,” he writes. Duy also notes the level shift down since the 2007-09 recession, which he says is suggestive that a less optimistic view of the world, has already been priced into the market.

Duy also examined S&P 500 performance after the first Fed rate increase of the cycle, and finds the current performance in line with the pre-2015 average. Duy says the current performance is not “an unexplainable deviation from fundamentals” but rather an expected recovery from excessive pessimism.

The buzz

There was little new information for traders to chew on, besides the People’s Bank of China deciding to cut bank reserve requirements to help shore up the world’s second-largest economy.

Weekly U.S. jobless claims data is set for release.

While not market moving, the saga of Carlos Ghosn is still getting attention, as details of how the former Nissan and Renault executive left Japan for Lebanon still remain murky, and possibly could involve being smuggled in a musical instrument case. Turkey has detained seven individuals in connection with Ghosn’s brief travel through Istanbul.

The markets

U.S. stock futures were pointing to a strong start on Thursday, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average YM00, +0.59%  gaining 160 points. See Market Snapshot.

European SXXP, +1.01% and Asian stocks ADOW, +0.23%  also rose.

In currency markets, the British pound GBPUSD, -0.4528% sagged while most of the other major pairs saw little movement.

Random reads

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says Domino’s Pizza DPZ, +0.18%  exploited those who celebrated the new year in Times Square by charging $30 for pizza.

A New York state assemblyman who tweeted there was no excuse for driving impaired was arrested days later for, yes, driving impaired.

In the U.K., cassette sales reached a 15-year high last year. Get a pencil ready to rethread your tapes.

Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but sign up here to get it delivered once to your email box. Be sure to check the Need to Know item. The emailed version will be sent out at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern.

Follow MarketWatch on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMikQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5tYXJrZXR3YXRjaC5jb20vc3RvcnkvaXJyYXRpb25hbC1leHViZXJhbmNlLXdoeS1sYXN0LXllYXJzLXN0ZWxsYXItcmV0dXJucy1tYXktaGF2ZS1iZWVuLWEtcmV2ZXJzYWwtb2YtZXhjZXNzaXZlLXBlc3NpbWlzbS0yMDIwLTAxLTAy0gFPaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubWFya2V0d2F0Y2guY29tL2FtcC9zdG9yeS9ndWlkL0I2ODAzRUJDLTJENDYtMTFFQS1BRTVBLTc2ODdDNTZDRDE3Nw?oc=5

2020-01-02 12:53:00Z
CAIiEG1XnMScUbHIeEKwIZpZ_wkqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowjujJATDXzBUwmJS0AQ

France Won’t Extradite Carlos Ghosn if He Goes There, Official Says - The New York Times

If the fugitive former automotive executive Carlos Ghosn were to go to France, the authorities there would not extradite him to Japan, a government minister said on Thursday, four days after Mr. Ghosn fled Japan to avoid trial on financial misconduct charges.

Mr. Ghosn, the former chief executive of Nissan and Renault, made a stunning getaway on Sunday, though his movements were supposed to be strictly limited while he was free on bail in Japan. He turned up in Lebanon, saying he had escaped the “rigged Japanese justice system.”

In Turkey, the authorities detained seven people suspected of helping Mr. Ghosn escape, according to news outlets there. He reportedly left Japan late Sunday aboard a business jet from Osaka to Istanbul Ataturk Airport, where he quickly switched to another plane and flew to Beirut.

Much about his cinematic flight remains shrouded in mystery, including how he was able to escape surveillance in Japan, how he arranged his flights to Lebanon, and whether he was helped by any other countries.

Mr. Ghosn, who has been charged in Japan with an array of financial crimes, was born in Brazil to a Lebanese family, grew up mostly in Lebanon and has lived most of his adult life in France. He has passports from all three countries, though his lawyers in Japan have said that they held the documents.

“If Mr. Ghosn arrived in France, we would not extradite Mr. Ghosn because France never extradites its nationals,” Agnès Pannier-Runacher, a junior economy minister, told the news channel BFM. “That’s a rule of the game.”

Turkish news organizations, including the state-run Anadolu news agency, reported that the planes that delivered Mr. Ghosn to Istanbul and Beirut were operated by MNG Jet, a Turkish company that offers chartered flights on business aircraft. Flight tracking websites confirm MNG flights matching Mr. Ghosn’s reported path.

Four of the seven people arrested in Turkey were pilots employed by a private aviation company, two were employees of a company that provides ground services to aircraft, and one was a manager of a private cargo company, according to the Turkish reports.

An official at Havas, a ground services company that operates at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, confirmed that two of its employees were in custody for questioning in the case but said that they were expected to be released later in the day. A person who answered the phone at MNG said no one was available to comment.

It was not clear whether anyone in Turkey knowingly aided Mr. Ghosn, or if he used some kind of subterfuge to avoid detection, like traveling under an alias.

Japanese prosecutors on Thursday raided Mr. Ghosn’s sprawling, two-story house in an exclusive neighborhood of central Tokyo. After about four hours, around a dozen men — most of them wearing black suits and surgical masks — carried out heavy black briefcases, ignoring questions journalists who followed them.

While officials in Japan have expressed their outrage over his escape, Mr. Ghosn has said he would speak to the news media “starting next week.”

In Lebanon, which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Japan, Mr. Ghosn is seen as a folk hero, a favorite son who studied in France’s most prestigious schools before embracing a successful career in the automobile industry.

Mr. Ghosn remains widely respected in France despite the accusations that he underreported his compensation and shifted personal financial losses to Nissan. French officials would not comment on how Mr. Ghosn was able to flee Japan or whether he had a second French passport.

On extradition, Ms. Pannier-Runacher said, the same rules apply to Mr. Ghosn as to any French person. Nobody is above the law, she added, but “French citizenship protects, and is protective of its citizens.”

A flight to France would be risky: Mr. Ghosn would have to pass through the airspace of several countries that could arrest him.

Asked if Mr. Ghosn had fled to save his life, Ms. Pannier-Runacher said that although his living conditions in Japan were unpleasant, his life had not been threatened. Even so, she seemed amazed by the unfolding drama.

“I’m hesitating between novel-like and … I don’t have the words to describe this escape,” she said.

Ben Dooley contributed reporting.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiUmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm55dGltZXMuY29tLzIwMjAvMDEvMDIvd29ybGQvZXVyb3BlL2Nhcmxvcy1naG9zbi1mcmFuY2UtZXh0cmFkaXRlLmh0bWzSAVZodHRwczovL3d3dy5ueXRpbWVzLmNvbS8yMDIwLzAxLzAyL3dvcmxkL2V1cm9wZS9jYXJsb3MtZ2hvc24tZnJhbmNlLWV4dHJhZGl0ZS5hbXAuaHRtbA?oc=5

2020-01-02 10:56:00Z
52780529986448

Japan tries to solve the mystery of Carlos Ghosn's audacious escape - CNN

Japanese media reported that Tokyo district prosecutors entered the property on Thursday. CNN affiliate TV Asahi also reported that prosecutors were working with police to access CCTV video around his home as part of their investigation.

Ghosn — the former chairman of Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, and former chairman and CEO of their alliance partner, Renault — had been awaiting trial in Japan on charges of financial wrongdoing, including allegations that he understated his income for years and funneled $5 million of Nissan's money to a car dealership he controlled. He was ousted from his posts at Nissan (NSANF) and Mitsubishi Motors following his arrest in November 2018, and later resigned from Renault (RNLSY).

As a condition of being released on bail, Ghosn was required to stay in Japan. But his case was completely upended earlier this week after Ghosn revealed that he had fled Japan for Lebanon to escape what he called a "rigged" justice system.

It is still not clear how Ghosn, who is a citizen of France, Brazil and Lebanon, was able to slip out of Japan. Reuters and the Financial Times have reported that he was smuggled out of Tokyo by a private security company -— a plot that the media organizations say took months to concoct.

Turkish state media reported Thursday that seven people have been detained in Istanbul on suspicion of helping Ghosn flee to Lebanon. Anadolu news agency said that Ghosn traveled via the city's Ataturk airport, where police detained four pilots of a private airline, two ground staff and the director of a cargo company. Flight tracker Flightradar24 showed a private jet flying from Osaka, Japan, to Istanbul and then another continuing to Lebanon at the time Ghosn is said to have arrived in the country.

CNN Business has been unable to verify the circumstances behind his departure, and Ghosn did not elaborate on his escape in his public statement earlier this week.

Japan's justice ministry, the Tokyo prosecutor's office and the city's district court have not responded to requests from CNN Business this week for comment about Ghosn's escape. Government offices are closed this week for the New Year holiday.

Legal experts and political analysts say that Japan is probably trying to figure out whether Ghosn violated immigration law when he left the country — not that there's much of a chance of forcing him to return.

Prosecutors in Tokyo are now likely retracing Ghosn's moves through Japan, collecting surveillance footage and searching for potential collaborators said Nobuo Gohara, a former prosecutor who now runs a compliance and law office in Japan.

Gohara added that Ghosn's trial is almost certainly now canceled. The bigger question, he said, is how Japanese authorities will respond to Ghosn's attacks on them, now that he is able to speak freely about his detention.

Ghosn has repeatedly denied the charges against him, and claimed that his arrest was part of a plot to remove him from the automotive empire he built. In his statement this week, he said he would "no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied."

Japan can't force Lebanon to send Ghosn back, said Keith Henry, the founder and representative director of Asia Strategy, a research and policy firm based in Tokyo. The two countries have no extradition agreement.

"It is a bigger deal for [Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe and Japan than for Ghosn," Henry said. "No matter what they do now, it is very difficult to overcome the embarrassment of letting go one of the most high-profile suspects" of corporate scandal since Japan's economic boom that followed World War II.

— CNN's Isil Sariyuce in Istanbul contributed to this article.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiUmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNubi5jb20vMjAyMC8wMS8wMi9idXNpbmVzcy9naG9zbi1lc2NhcGUtamFwYW4tbGViYW5vbi1yYWlkL2luZGV4Lmh0bWzSAVZodHRwczovL2FtcC5jbm4uY29tL2Nubi8yMDIwLzAxLzAyL2J1c2luZXNzL2dob3NuLWVzY2FwZS1qYXBhbi1sZWJhbm9uLXJhaWQvaW5kZXguaHRtbA?oc=5

2020-01-02 10:29:00Z
52780529986448

Japanese prosecutors raid Nissan ex-chair Ghosn's Tokyo home - Yahoo News

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese prosecutors on Thursday raided the Tokyo home of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn after he skipped bail and fled to Lebanon before his trial on financial misconduct charges.

Tokyo prosecutors and police did not immediately comment. Japanese media showed investigators entering the home, which was Ghosn's third residence in Tokyo since he was first arrested a year ago. Authorities have now searched each one.

Government offices in Japan are closed this week for the New Year's holidays.

It is unclear how Ghosn avoided the tight surveillance he was under in Japan and showed up in Lebanon.

Ghosn said Tuesday in a statement that he left for Lebanon because he thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid “political persecution.”

He said he would talk to reporters next week.

Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon.

Lebanon has said Ghosn entered the country legally, and there was no reason to take action against him.

His lawyers in Japan said they had no knowledge of the escape and they had all his passports. Ghosn has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV, without identifying sources, reported Thursday that Ghosn had two French passports.

Earlier Japanese reports said there were no official records in Japan of Ghosn’s departure, but a private jet had left from a regional airport to Turkey.

Ghosn, who was charged with under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust, has repeatedly asserted his innocence, saying authorities trumped up charges to prevent a possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA.

His 1.5 billion yen ($14 million) bail that Ghosn posted on two separate instances to get out of detention is being revoked.

___

Yuri Kageyama in on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiTWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnlhaG9vLmNvbS9uZXdzL2phcGFuZXNlLXByb3NlY3V0b3JzLXJhaWQtbmlzc2FuLWV4LTA3MDUxMTUxMy5odG1s0gFRaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnlhaG9vLmNvbS9hbXBodG1sL2phcGFuZXNlLXByb3NlY3V0b3JzLXJhaWQtbmlzc2FuLWV4LTA3MDUxMTUxMy5odG1s?oc=5

2020-01-02 08:03:45Z
52780529986448

Japanese prosecutors raid Nissan ex-chair Ghosn's Tokyo home - Yahoo News

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese prosecutors on Thursday raided the Tokyo home of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn after he skipped bail and fled to Lebanon before his trial on financial misconduct charges.

Tokyo prosecutors and police did not immediately comment. Japanese media showed investigators entering the home, which was Ghosn's third residence in Tokyo since he was first arrested a year ago. Authorities have now searched each one.

Government offices in Japan are closed this week for the New Year's holidays.

It is unclear how Ghosn avoided the tight surveillance he was under in Japan and showed up in Lebanon.

Ghosn said Tuesday in a statement that he left for Lebanon because he thought the Japanese judicial system was unjust, and he wanted to avoid “political persecution.”

He said he would talk to reporters next week.

Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon.

Lebanon has said Ghosn entered the country legally, and there was no reason to take action against him.

His lawyers in Japan said they had no knowledge of the escape and they had all his passports. Ghosn has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV, without identifying sources, reported Thursday that Ghosn had two French passports.

Earlier Japanese reports said there were no official records in Japan of Ghosn’s departure, but a private jet had left from a regional airport to Turkey.

Ghosn, who was charged with under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust, has repeatedly asserted his innocence, saying authorities trumped up charges to prevent a possible fuller merger between Nissan Motor Co. and alliance partner Renault SA.

His 1.5 billion yen ($14 million) bail that Ghosn posted on two separate instances to get out of detention is being revoked.

___

Yuri Kageyama in on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiTWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnlhaG9vLmNvbS9uZXdzL2phcGFuZXNlLXByb3NlY3V0b3JzLXJhaWQtbmlzc2FuLWV4LTA3MDUxMTUxMy5odG1s0gFRaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnlhaG9vLmNvbS9hbXBodG1sL2phcGFuZXNlLXByb3NlY3V0b3JzLXJhaWQtbmlzc2FuLWV4LTA3MDUxMTUxMy5odG1s?oc=5

2020-01-02 07:27:32Z
52780529986448