Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon to avoid a Japanese trial, had a second French passport, a source said Thursday, as authorities raided his Tokyo residence as part of a probe into the embarrassing security lapse, Eurasia Diary reports citing AFP.
Ghosn, who faced multiple charges of financial misconduct that he denies, won bail in April but with strict conditions -- including a ban on overseas travel.
His lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka has said lawyers hold three passports belonging to the international tycoon, who has French, Brazilian and Lebanese nationality.
But the court had allowed him to keep a second French passport as he needed one to travel inside Japan, a source close to the matter told AFP.
"He had to keep this passport" to prove his short-stay status, the source said, adding: "There was permission from the court."
He was allowed this French passport so long as it was kept in a locked case with the code held by his lawyers, the source said.
There is no emigration data showing Ghosn's departure from Japan but he entered Lebanon on a French passport, public broadcaster NHK said.
It is still not clear how the high-profile fugitive managed to give authorities the slip, but he is thought to have taken a private jet from Kansai Airport in western Japan.
A jet took off on December 29 around 11:00 pm local time for Istanbul and it is believed Ghosn headed from there to Beirut.
