EXCLUSIVE: Brazilian Consul Gets Message from Ghosn to His Family

November 30, 2018

Tokyo--Former Nissan Motor Co. <7201> Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was arrested last week on suspicion of financial misdeed, misses his family and has left a brief message to them, according to Joao de Mendonca, Brazilian consul-general in Tokyo.

In an interview with Jiji Press on Thursday, Mendonca said he has met with Ghosn three times at the Tokyo Detention House since his arrest, and gave him books about European and Brazilian history as well as foreign magazines at his request.

Mendonca said he has also taken a "very simple and very private" message to his family members, including his mother, who live in Brazil.

Mendonca said that Ghosn was in "good health and good spirit" and seemed to be "well treated" at the Tokyo Detention House.

In the meetings, each of which lasted about 20 minutes, Mendonca spoke in Portuguese with Ghosn, who has Brazilian nationality, according to the consul-general.

Ghosn seemed "happy to be able to speak Portuguese," Mendonca said.

They did not talk about the scandal at all because the purpose of the so-called "consul visits" was simply to see if Brazilians are "well taken care of" and to give them "assistance if needed," Mendonca added.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested Ghosn on Nov. 19 on suspicion of understating his executive pay in Nissan's securities filings in violation of Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

On Thursday, Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor at the prosecutors' office, countered overseas media criticism of the detention of Ghosn.

"We believe that there is no problem as (the arrest) was made under a warrant issued by a court," Kukimoto said at a press conference.

Questioning of Ghosn has been conducted through an interpreter of English and subject to audio and video recording, according to Kukimoto.

He declined to give clear answers to questions about the use of the Japanese version of plea bargaining for the arrests of Ghosn and his close aide and about whether or not they have admitted the charges. Jiji Press