ISTANBUL/BEIRUT -- Lebanon received an Interpol arrest warrant on Thursday for ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, a Lebanese judicial source told Reuters.
The request, an Interpol red notice that calls on authorities to arrest a wanted person, was received by Lebanon's internal security forces and has yet to be referred to the judiciary, the source said.
Ghosn fled to Beirut from Japan, where he faces trial for alleged financial misconduct.
Lebanese government officials could not immediately be reached to say what -- if any -- action would be taken.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no decision had been taken with regards to the warrant.
In past cases, where Lebanon has received red notices for Lebanese citizens resident in the country, the suspects have not been detained but their passports have been confiscated and a bail has been set, the source said.
Meanwhile, Turkish police detained seven people, including four pilots, on Thursday in an investigation into how Ghosn transited through Istanbul en route to Lebanon after fleeing Japan, a police spokeswoman told Reuters.
She said the other detainees were two airport ground workers and one cargo worker and all seven were expected to give statements before a court on Thursday.
Media reports said Turkey's interior ministry had begun an investigation into Ghosn's transit. The former Nissan boss revealed on Tuesday he had fled to Beirut to escape what he called a "rigged" justice system.
Private plane
People familiar with the matter told Reuters that Ghosn, one of the world's best-known executives, had arrived in Beirut on a private jet from Istanbul on Monday.
Hurriyet news website, citing an interior ministry official, said Turkish border police were not notified about Ghosn's arrival, and neither his entry nor exit were registered.
A plane carrying Ghosn arrived at 5:30 a.m. Monday local time at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Hurriyet reported, adding that prosecutors ordered the arrests after widening their investigation.
Flight tracking data from that time suggests that Ghosn used two different planes to fly into Istanbul and then on to Lebanon. Bloomberg, citing a senior Turkish official with direct knowledge of the matter, reported that Ghosn was transferred between the two airplanes inside a box.
Japanese authorities allowed Ghosn to carry a spare French passport in a locked case while out on bail, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday, shedding some light on how he managed his escape to Lebanon.
The businessman, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship, was smuggled out of Tokyo by a private security company days ago, the culmination of a plan that was crafted over three months, Reuters has reported.
Ghosn was first arrested in Tokyo in November 2018 and faces four charges, including hiding income and enriching himself through payments to car dealerships in the Middle East. He denies the charges.
Bloomberg contributed to this report.
