Japan issues arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn's wife

Tokyo prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for the wife of fugitive ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn.

Carole Ghosn is suspected of making false statements to a Tokyo court in April, investigators said.

Mr Ghosn skipped bail in December, joining his wife in Beirut.

A spokeswoman for the Ghosn family said the arrest warrant for Mrs Ghosn was "pathetic", and was linked to a news conference due to be given by Mr Ghosn on Wednesday.

Japan is seeking Mr Ghosn's extradition from Lebanon, although the country does not have a treaty with Japan.

A spokeswoman for the ex-Nissan boss told Reuters: "Last time Carlos Ghosn announced a press conference and got re-arrested. This time, the day before he is announced to speak out freely for the first time, they issued an arrest warrant for his wife Carole Ghosn."

"The issuance of this warrant is pathetic," she added.

Mr Ghosn has denied charges of financial wrongdoing in Japan, instead claiming the country's justice system is "rigged".

According to reports, Mr Ghosn escaped the country late in December by boarding a bullet train to Osaka, and was then reportedly smuggled out of the country in a flight case, usually used to transport musical equipment.

After his escape from Japan last week, Mr Ghosn insisted he had organised his escape "alone", and denied reports his wife had helped.

Mr Ghosn ran car giant Nissan-Renault until he was arrested on charges of financial misconduct in November 2018.

He was banned from seeing his wife while on bail. But, in the final days of 2019, he skipped bail to board a private jet that took him to Turkey before he travelled on to Lebanon, where he is a citizen, and where his wife was waiting.