Dramatic downfall of Carlos Ghosn reverberates in Lebanon

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 hoped that Ghosn, whose grandparents were Lebanese and who holds extensive 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 extended his detention for 10 days.

Now, Lebanese politicians are mobilizing in his defence, 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.

Zeina Karam, The Associated Press