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Hearings in $1 Billion Lawsuit Filed by Auto Tycoon Ghosn against Nissan Starts in Beirut

Former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 23, 2023. (AP)
Former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 23, 2023. (AP)
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Hearings in $1 Billion Lawsuit Filed by Auto Tycoon Ghosn against Nissan Starts in Beirut

Former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 23, 2023. (AP)
Former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 23, 2023. (AP)

Hearings in the $1 billion lawsuit filed by auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn against Nissan and other defendants started in Beirut on Monday with lawyers of both sides meeting the judge in charge of the case, judicial officials said.

The former Nissan CEO filed the case against Nissan in May in Beirut, alleging he was detained in Japan in 2018 on false charges because of what he calls the automaker's disinformation against him. The 69-year-old Ghosn is seeking half of the $1 billion in damages and half for compensation including salary, retirement funds and stock options.

Ghosn is also seeking monetary compensation from a Nissan affiliate based in Lebanon, as well as from entities that took part in the investigation leading up to his arrest.

He was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on charges of breach of trust, misusing company assets for personal gains and violating securities laws by not fully disclosing his compensation. In December 2019, he jumped bail in Japan in a daring escape by hiding in a box spirited aboard a private jet out of the country.

He now lives in Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan and does not extradite its citizens. Renault and Nissan have both been distancing themselves from the Ghosn scandal. Ghosn has citizenship in Lebanon, France and Brazil.

In a session that lasted about four hours at the Palace of Justice in Beirut, lawyers representing Ghosn and Nissan met with Judge Sabbouh Suleiman at the Beirut prosecutor’s office, the officials said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. None of the lawyers or the judge spoke to reporters.

A date was expected to be set for the next session.

Ghosn led Japanese automaker Nissan for two decades, rescuing it from near-bankruptcy before his 2018 arrest.

He is now wanted in Japan and France. Since he fled to Lebanon, Beirut has received three notices from Interpol based on arrest warrants for him from those countries. In France, he is facing a number of legal challenges, including tax evasion and alleged money laundering, fraud and misuse of company assets while at the helm of the Renault-Nissan alliance.

The office of Ghosn’s lawyer declined to comment on the case when contacted by The Associated Press.

Ghosn claims to be the victim of a character assassination campaign led by Nissan with the complicity of the Japanese government, aided by accomplices in France.

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Arab World

Syria Closes ISIS-linked al-Hol Camp after Emptying it

18 February 2026, Syria, Al-Hol: A view of al-Hol camp. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa
18 February 2026, Syria, Al-Hol: A view of al-Hol camp. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa
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Syria Closes ISIS-linked al-Hol Camp after Emptying it

18 February 2026, Syria, Al-Hol: A view of al-Hol camp. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa
18 February 2026, Syria, Al-Hol: A view of al-Hol camp. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa

Syrian authorities have closed al-Hol camp, which long housed relatives of suspected ISIS militants, after emptying the formerly Kurdish-controlled facility, a camp official told AFP on Sunday.

"All Syrian and non-Syrian families were relocated," Fadi al-Qassem, the official appointed by the government to manage al-Hol's affairs told AFP.

Al-Hol, located in a desert region of Hasakeh province, had been Syria's largest camp housing relatives of suspected ISIS fighters.

Last month, the government took over the camp from its Kurdish administrators, who had long run it, as Kurdish forces ceded territory and Damascus extended its control across swathes of Syria's northeast.

Since then, thousands of family members of foreign militants have left for unknown destinations.

The facility had housed some 24,000 people, mostly Syrians but also Iraqis and more than 6,000 other foreigners of around 40 nationalities.

Qassem said security forces were searching the tents for any remaining families.

Earlier this week, authorities had started evacuating the remaining residents, taking them to a camp in Akhtarin, in the north of Aleppo province.

Some of the families were taken elsewhere, Qassem said, without specifying the location.

"The camp's residents are children and women who need support for their reintegration," he added.

A source in a humanitarian organization that was active in the camp told AFP: "We evacuated all our teams working inside the camp, dismantled all our equipment and prefabricated rooms and moved them out of the camp".

Last week, the US military said it had completed the transfer of thousands of ISIS suspects, including many Syrians but also Westerners, to Iraq, after they were held in Kurdish-run prisons in northeast Syria for years.

Arab World

Palestinian Foreign Ministry Condemns US Ambassador to Israel’s Statements

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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Palestinian Foreign Ministry Condemns US Ambassador to Israel’s Statements

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned statements by the US ambassador to Israel, in which he claimed that Israel has the right to exercise control over the entire Middle East.

The ministry emphasized that these provocative statements constitute a blatant call for aggression against the sovereignty of states.

It added that they support the continuation of the occupation’s war of genocide and displacement, as well as the implementation of its annexation and expansionist plans against the Palestinian people, SPA reported.

The Palestinian foreign ministry pointed out that the statements contradict religious and historical facts and international law, SPA reported.

It called on the US administration to take a clear stance regarding its ambassador to Israel’s remarks, which are completely at odds with the US president’s position rejecting the annexation of the West Bank.

Arab World

Israel Carries Out More Strikes in Lebanon amid Lack of Int’l Assurances on Wider Regional Escalation

People gather near a building damaged in an Israeli strike in the village of Bednayel in eastern Lebanon, 21 February 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
People gather near a building damaged in an Israeli strike in the village of Bednayel in eastern Lebanon, 21 February 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Israel Carries Out More Strikes in Lebanon amid Lack of Int’l Assurances on Wider Regional Escalation

People gather near a building damaged in an Israeli strike in the village of Bednayel in eastern Lebanon, 21 February 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
People gather near a building damaged in an Israeli strike in the village of Bednayel in eastern Lebanon, 21 February 2026. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanese officials say the country has yet to obtain firm or decisive Western guarantees that it will be spared from a larger confrontation in the region as speculation grows over a potential US strike on Iran.

Chief concerns center on whether Hezbollah would be targeted as part of any large-scale strike, or whether the group might intervene militarily alongside Tehran.

Ministerial sources said Israeli airstrikes on Hamas in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, as well as overnight raids targeting Hezbollah in the eastern Bekaa Valley fall within the pattern of ongoing military operations Lebanon, particularly targeted assassinations against figures linked to both groups.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat Lebanon has not received explicit Western assurances that it would not be drawn into a wider confrontation if the conflict expands.

On Hezbollah’s position, the sources noted that the group has not offered a clear position on how it would respond to potential developments.

They pointed to behind-the-scenes efforts led primarily by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri who believes “Hezbollah will not take any step if Iran is struck.”

Although Hezbollah has previously declared it “would stand idle” in case of escalation, the sources said the party has not announced any specific military plans.

Statements made by its officials have been vague, they added, citing remarks by head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc Mohammad Raad, who stressed on Friday the party’s commitment to “the security and stability of the country and the continuation of normal life.”

In Lebanon’s official response, President Joseph Aoun strongly condemned the Israeli raids carried out overnight by land and sea, which targeted the Sidon area and towns in the Bekaa.

He described the continued attacks as “blatant aggression” aimed at sabotaging Lebanon’s diplomatic efforts with brotherly and friendly nations - foremost among them the United States - to consolidate stability and halt Israeli hostilities.

Aoun said the strikes were a renewed violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and a clear breach of international obligations, particularly United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for a cessation of hostilities and full implementation of its provisions.

The president renewed his appeal to countries supporting regional stability to assume their responsibilities by pressing for an immediate halt to the attacks and ensuring respect for international resolutions in a way that preserves Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and prevents further escalation.