Dramatic downfall of Carlos Ghosn reverberates in Lebanon

Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo on November 19, 2018 for financial misconduct, public broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media outlets reported. (File/AFP)
Updated 02 December 2018
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Dramatic downfall of Carlos Ghosn reverberates in Lebanon

  • Lebanon has long held hopes that Ghosn would play a bigger role in politics one day, or help rescue its increasingly sluggish economy
  • The country’s economy is struggling, with experts warning it is dangerously close to collapse after decades of mismanagement, corruption and nepotism

BEIRUT: He may have fallen from grace internationally as one of the auto industry’s most powerful leaders, but Carlos Ghosn can count on continued support in at least one corner of the globe.
Lebanon has long held hopes that Ghosn, whose grandparents were Lebanese and who holds extensive development projects in the country, would play a bigger role in politics one day, or help rescue its increasingly sluggish economy.
But Ghosn, ex-chairman of Nissan Motor Co., was detained last month on allegations of underreporting his income, and on Friday, a Japanese court approved extending his detention for 10 more days.
Now, politicians across the board are mobilizing in his defense, with some suggesting his detention may be part of a political or business-motivated conspiracy, and the government even considering extraditing him from Tokyo to face trial here.
“To Carlos Ghosn in his predicament I say, a Lebanese phoenix will not be scorched by the Japanese sun,” Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk said at a security conference in Beirut this week.
Lebanon, a tiny country of 4.5 million, takes excessive pride in its huge emigrant community and successful businessmen and celebrities of Lebanese heritage. They include Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim, Columbian singer Shakira, Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek, Lebanese-British barrister Amal Clooney and fashion designers Elie Saab and Reem Accra.
The Lebanese took special pride in the auto industry icon, who holds a Lebanese passport, speaks fluent Arabic and visits regularly, including a last visit right before he was detained in Tokyo. Born in Brazil, where his Lebanese grandfather had sought his fortune, Ghosn grew up in Beirut, where he spent part of his childhood at a Jesuit school.
As he began his ascent in the auto industry, first with Renault and then by bringing Nissan in Tokyo back from the brink of bankruptcy, Ghosn kept in touch with old friends. He married twice, first to a Lebanese woman who resides in Beirut and again in 2016 to Carole Nahas, also of Lebanese heritage.
As a Maronite Christian, Ghosn’s name occasionally popped up as a possible candidate for the presidency, but he repeatedly dismissed suggestions he would run for office, saying he is not a politician. The post of president is reserved for a Christian in Lebanon’s sectarian-based system of government.
Although the extent of his businesses in Lebanon is not known exactly, Ghosn has spoken in interviews about various real estate projects in the country and sits on the board of several universities, hospitals and charities. In 2012, he became a partner in the Lebanese winery IXSIR, and is a board member of family-owned Saradar Bank.
In 2017, the government honored him with a special postage stamp — a show of respect to a man considered a model of Lebanese entrepreneurial spirit.
So when news broke on Nov. 19 that Ghosn, 64, had been detained on allegations he underreported millions of dollars in income, and that Nissan is accusing him of using company money for personal gain, people in Lebanon were stunned — and many were unconvinced.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil promptly issued a statement saying Lebanon would stand by Ghosn, adding he had asked the Lebanese ambassador to Tokyo to look out for “the model of Lebanese success abroad.” The ambassador has since reportedly met three times with Ghosn — who is being held in a small cell in the Japanese capital — providing him with a mattress and food in the form of salmon, according to one report on a local TV channel.
Ghosn’s dramatic downfall has sparked various conspiracy theories, with some claiming that his arrest was a U.S. ploy to punish him for resisting sanctions on Iran and others speculating it was an internal coup engineered by Nissan executives.
Melhem Riachi, the information minister, urged officials to intervene with the government of Japan, tweeting: “An investigation is extremely important. Something stinks.”
Allegations against Ghosn reported in the Japanese media, but unconfirmed, suggest he spent Nissan funds on fancy homes in Paris, Beirut, Rio de Janeiro and Amsterdam, and on family vacations and other personal expenses. Ghosn has denied the allegations against him, saying he had no intention of underreporting his income, the reports say.
Ghosn’s three-story property in one of Beirut’s most prized real estate districts stands out for its pink walls and blue shuttered windows. The traditional old Lebanese house was acquired and renovated in 2014, according to neighbors who said they occasionally saw him visiting.
“He is a successful businessman with a good reputation ... he is not someone you would expect to be a cheat,” said Rouba Rabah, who owns an art gallery opposite Ghosn’s property.
Another neighbor who declined to give his name said he was stunned by the news like every other Lebanese would be, recalling how he would see Ghosn personally overseeing the renovation work four years ago.
Lebanese businessmen, many of them personal friends of Ghosn, have rallied around him, even after he was stripped of his title as chairman at Nissan and at Japanese partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
A group of Lebanese lawyers is now considering forming a team for his defense, and Justice Minister Salim Jreissati told Lebanon’s daily An-Nahar that the government is considering asking Japan to extradite Ghosn to face trial on Lebanese soil.
Lawyer Amal Haddad told The Associated Press that she and the current head of the Lebanese Lawyers’ Syndicate, Andree Chidiac, were considering the options. “That’s all I can say until we are formally assigned the case,” Haddad said.
In Ghosn’s downfall, many here see a lost opportunity. The country’s economy is struggling, with experts warning it is dangerously close to collapse after decades of mismanagement, corruption and nepotism.
Cabinet Minister Mouin Merhebi said that Ghosn’s arrest is regrettable.
“He is an important personality, an economic personality we had hoped would one day play a role in Lebanese political life, a role to salvage Lebanon,” he told the AP.


UAE adds 19 individuals, entities to terrorism list over Muslim Brotherhood links

Updated 2 sec ago
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UAE adds 19 individuals, entities to terrorism list over Muslim Brotherhood links

  • Designation is part of UAE’s national and international efforts to dismantle terrorist financial networks

LONDON: The UAE designated 19 individuals and entities as terrorists on Wednesday due to their connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is classified as a terror group in the UAE.

Abu Dhabi placed 11 individuals and eight entities on the country’s Local Terrorist List, the WAM news agency reported. All the organizations are based in the UK, while the individuals, except two, are Emirati nationals.

The decision is part of the UAE’s national and international efforts to dismantle networks associated with the direct and indirect financing of terrorism, according to WAM.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia also classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror group.

The list of individuals as published by WAM includes:

1. Yousuf Hassan Ahmed Al-Mulla — Current nationality: Sweden, former nationality: Liberia.

2. Saeed Khadim Ahmed bin Touq Al-Marri — Nationality: Turkiye/UAE.

3. Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Al-Hammadi — Nationality: Sweden/UAE.

4. Ilham Abdullah Ahmed Al-Hashimi — Nationality: UAE.

5. Jasem Rashid Khalfan Rashid Al-Shamsi — Nationality: UAE.

6. Khaled Obaid Yousuf Buatabh Al-Zaabi — Nationality: UAE.

7. Abdulrahman Hassan Munif Abdullah Hassan Al-Jabri — Nationality: UAE.

8. Humaid Abdullah Abdulrahman Al-Jarman Al-Nuaimi — Nationality: UAE.

9. Abdulrahman Omar Salem Bajbair Al-Hadrami — Nationality: Yemen.

10. Ali Hassan Ali Hussein Al-Hammadi — Nationality: UAE.

11. Mohammed Ali Hassan Ali Al-Hammadi — Nationality: UAE.

 
The list of entities as published by WAM includes:

1. Cambridge Education and Training Center Ltd. — Based in: UK.

2. IMA6INE Ltd. — Based in: UK.

3. Wembley Tree Ltd. — Based in: UK.

4. Waslaforall — Based in: UK.

5. Future Graduates Ltd. — Based in: UK.

6. Yas for Investment and Real Estate — Based in: UK.

7. Holdco UK Properties Limited — Based in: UK.

8. Nafel Capital — Based in: UK.


Israel military says body of only one hostage found in Gaza

Updated 6 min 29 sec ago
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Israel military says body of only one hostage found in Gaza

The troops recovered the body of hostage Youssef Al-Zayadna from an underground tunnel in Rafah

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military clarified on Wednesday that its troops had recovered the body of only one hostage, not two as previously announced by Defense Minister Israel Katz.
In a statement, the military said: “The troops located and recovered the body of hostage Youssef Al-Zayadna from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip and returned his body to Israel.” Katz earlier said that the remains of Zayadna’s son, Hamza, had also been found.

With Hezbollah weakened, Lebanon to hold presidential vote

Candidates in focus include army commander General Joseph Aoun — said by Lebanese politicians to enjoy US approval. (File/AFP)
Updated 08 January 2025
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With Hezbollah weakened, Lebanon to hold presidential vote

  • Lebanon has not had a president for more than 2 years
  • Parliamentary vote takes place amidst historic regional shift

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament will try to elect a president on Thursday, with officials seeing better chances of success in a political landscape shaken by Israel’s war with Hezbollah and the toppling of the group’s ally Bashar Assad in neighboring Syria.
The post, reserved for a Maronite Christian in the country’s sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October, 2023. None of the political groups in the 128-seat parliament have enough seats to impose their choice, and they have so far been unable to agree on a consensus candidate.
The vote marks the first test of Lebanon’s power balance since the Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah — which propelled its then Christian ally Aoun to the presidency in 2016 — emerged badly pummelled from the war with Israel.
It takes place against a backdrop of historic change in the wider Middle East, where the Assad-led Syrian state exercised sway over Lebanon for decades, both directly and through allies such as Hezbollah.
Reflecting the shifts, Hezbollah and its ally the Shiite Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri have dropped their insistence on Suleiman Frangieh, their declared candidate for the last two years, and are ready to go with a less divisive figure, three senior sources familiar with their thinking said.
Candidates in focus include army commander General Joseph Aoun — said by Lebanese politicians to enjoy US approval — Jihad Azour, a senior International Monetary Fund official who formerly served as finance minister, and Maj. Gen. Elias Al-Baysari — head of General Security, a state security agency.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he felt happy because “God willing, tomorrow we will have a new president,” according to a statement from his office.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also expressed hope in comments to France Inter radio, saying the election was “a prerequisite for the continuation of this dynamic of peace” and also for Lebanon’s economic and social recovery.
However, two of the sources and an analyst cautioned that it was not yet certain any candidate would be elected. To win, a candidate must secure 86 votes in a first round, or 65 in a second round.
Hezbollah still seen with sway
Aoun, head of Lebanon’s US-backed army, would still need 86 votes because his election requires a constitutional amendment, as he is a still-serving state employee, Berri has said.
A State Department spokesperson said it was “up to Lebanon to choose its next president, not the United States or any external actor.”
“We have been consistent in our efforts to press Lebanon to elect a new president, which we see as important to strengthening Lebanon’s political institutions,” the spokesperson said.
Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa said last week there was “no veto” on Aoun. But the sources said Hezbollah, designated a terrorist group by the United States, will not support Aoun.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up the ceasefire brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Still reeling from a financial collapse in 2019, Lebanon desperately needs foreign aid to rebuild.
Much of the damage is in Shiite majority areas.
Hezbollah, its supply line to Iran severed by Assad’s ousting, has urged Arab and international support for Lebanon.
Nabil Boumonsef, deputy editor-in-chief of Annahar newspaper, was not certain anyone would be elected, even after the major shift in the balance of power in Lebanon, where Hezbollah’s weapons have long been a source of division.
Underlining the influence Hezbollah and Amal still wield, he said the only way a president could be elected would be if they agreed on Aoun or Azour. But if they tried to install their preferred candidate, this would “sever the oxygen from Lebanon.”
Saudi Minister Faisal bin Farhan said last October that Riyadh had never fully disengaged from Lebanon and that outside countries should not tell Lebanese what to do.


Red Cross urges unhindered aid access to flood-hit and freezing Gaza

Updated 08 January 2025
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Red Cross urges unhindered aid access to flood-hit and freezing Gaza

  • IFRC highlighted the deaths of eight newborn babies who had been living in tents without warmth or protection from rain

Geneva: The Red Cross called Wednesday for safe and unhindered access to Gaza to bring desperately needed aid into the war-torn Palestinian territory wracked by hunger and where babies are freezing to death.
Heavy rain and flooding have ravaged the makeshift shelters in Gaza, leaving thousands with up to 30 centimeters of water inside their damaged tents, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
The dire weather conditions were “exacerbating the unbearable conditions” in Gaza, it said, pointing out that many families were left “clinging on to survival in makeshift camps, without even the most basic necessities, such as blankets.”
Citing the United Nations, the IFRC highlighted the deaths of eight newborn babies who had been living in tents without warmth or protection from the rain and falling temperatures.
Those deaths “underscore the critical severity of the humanitarian crisis there,” IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain said in a statement.
“I urgently reiterate my call to grant safe and unhindered access to humanitarians to let them provide life-saving assistance,” he said.
“Without safe access — children will freeze to death. Without safe access — families will starve. Without safe access — humanitarian workers can’t save lives.”
Chapagain issued an “urgent plea to all the parties... to put an end to this human suffering. Now.”
The IFRC said the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) was striving to provide emergency health services and supplies to people in Gaza, with an extra sense of urgency during the cold winter months.
But it warned that “the lack of aid deliveries and access is making providing adequate support all but impossible.”
It also lamented the “continuing attacks on health facilities across the Gaza Strip,” which it said meant people were unable to access the treatment they need.
“In the north of Gaza, there are now no functioning hospitals,” it said.
The IFRC stressed that the closure of the main Rafah border crossing last May had had a dramatic impact on the humanitarian situation, warning that “only a trickle of aid is currently entering Gaza.”


South Syria fighters reluctant to give up weapons: spokesman

Updated 08 January 2025
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South Syria fighters reluctant to give up weapons: spokesman

  • Daraa became known as the birthplace of the Syrian uprising after protests erupted there in 2011 against Assad’s rule
  • Southern Operations Room, a coalition of armed groups from the southern province of Daraa formed on December 6 to help topple Assad

Bosra: Fighters in southern Syria who helped topple President Bashar Assad are reluctant to disarm and disband as ordered by the country’s new rulers, their spokesman told AFP.
An Islamist-led offensive ripped through Syria from the north and into Damascus on December 8, bringing to a sudden end five decades of rule by the Assad clan.
On December 25, the country’s new Islamist rulers said they had reached an agreement with rebel groups on their dissolution and integration under the defense ministry.
New leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa said the authorities would “absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control.”
But a spokesman for the Southern Operations Room, a coalition of armed groups from the southern province of Daraa formed on December 6 to help topple Assad, said the alliance did not agree.
“We’re not convinced by the idea of dissolving armed groups,” said its spokesman Naseem Abu Orra.
“We’re an organized force in the south... headed by officers who defected” from Assad’s army, he told AFP in Daraa’s town of Bosra.
“We can integrate the defense ministry as a pre-organized entity... We have weapons, heavy equipment,” he said.
Abu Orra said the group, led by local leader Ahmed Al-Awdeh, included thousands of men, without any Islamist affiliation.
Awdeh has good relations with former Assad ally Russia, as well as neighboring Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, sources close to his group said.
Daraa became known as the birthplace of the Syrian uprising after protests erupted there in 2011 against Assad’s rule.
As they spread across the country, government forces cracked down on the demonstrators, triggering defections from the army and one of the deadliest wars of the century.
After losing swathes of territory to rebels and jihadists, Assad’s forces clawed back control of much of the country with the backing of Iran and Russia.
Daraa returned to government control in 2018, but under a deal mediated by Russia, rebels were allowed to keep their weapons and continue to ensure security in their region.
Then, after more than 13 years of civil war that had killed more than half a million people and ravaged the country, everything changed.
In the north of Syria, an Islamist-led rebel coalition called Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) moved rapidly out of its bastion on the Turkish border to seize second city Aleppo from Assad’s forces on December 1.
Its fighters then advanced southwards toward the cities of Hama and Homs on their way to the capital.
“We... decided to begin liberating the south of the country to reach Damascus” from the other direction, Abu Orra said.
He said they elaborated their own military plans in Daraa, but there was “some coordination” with HTS in the north.
Several witnesses have told AFP that they saw Awdeh’s men, recognizable by their headdress typical of southern Syria, posted near the Central Bank and in several neighborhoods in the early hours of December 8.
By then, Assad had already fled the country, former officials have told AFP.
“It was chaos but we were briefly able to take control of vital institutions to ensure their protection,” Abu Orra said.
He said the Southern Operations Room also stood guard outside several embassies, including those of Egypt and Jordan, and led some foreign diplomats to a prominent hotel to ensure their safety.
He said “several foreign countries” had called Awdeh to request his help.
When HTS forces arrived in town at the end of the afternoon, the Southern Operations Room withdrew to Daraa to avoid “chaos or armed clashes,” Abu Orra said.
Two days later, Awdeh met Syria’s new leader Sharaa. But he did not attend the December 25 meeting during which other rebel factions agreed to disband and join a future army.