Lawyer apologises for Carlos Ghosn’s bail ‘disguise’
Carlos Ghosn’s lawyer has apologised for his “amateur plan” to disguise the car industry titan as a manual labourer on his release from prison yesterday.
The former Nissan boss, was identified within moments of leaving a Tokyo jail on Wednesday despite wearing a facemask, overalls, yellow reflective braces and a cap.
Japanese media mocked the disguise following Ghosn’s release on bail from charges of financial misconduct and breach of trust, which he denies.
“The disguise was all planned and carried out by me," Takashi Takano wrote in a blog post today.
“I feel sorry about that.. due to my amateur plan, the fame he has built over a lifetime was tainted.”
But the lawyer, known as ‘the Razor’ for his mental acuity, said he came up with the plan to stop journalists tracking Ghosn to where he is staying.
Had they found him, “not only would he not be able to have his life back, but also his health would be damaged”, as well as his neighbours’ lives being at risk.
While reporters did follow the van he entered, they did not appear to have tracked down his living quarters.
Ghosn has been stuck in a Tokyo jail since mid-November, until he posted a £6.8m bail this week.
Tokyo’s courts struck down two previous attempts at winning bail, saying he was a flight risk that could tamper with evidence.
Under the terms of his bail, Ghosn will not be able to use the internet and can only use a computer in his lawyer’s office during weekday daytime hours.
The court has put him under constant video surveillance.