Photo/Illutration Investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office leave the Tokyo residence of Carlos Ghosn on Jan. 2 after searching for evidence in connection with his flight from Japan. (Shogo Koshida)

Carlos Ghosn may have fled to Lebanon using a French passport that he was required to carry around in Japan under the immigration control law, sources said.

Lawyers of the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co. held his three passports from France, Lebanon and Brazil as a condition of his release on bail.

But Ghosn, 65, had a fourth passport.

After he was ousted from all his posts at Nissan in 2019, he lost his visa status and was required under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law to always carry a passport when he moved around in Japan.

For that reason, his lawyers asked for a revision to the conditions of his release on bail.

In May 2019, the Tokyo District Court, which had decided a month earlier to grant Ghosn’s release on bail, allowed Ghosn to carry the fourth passport but on the condition that it was always kept in a locked transparent case. Ghosn was not told the combination for the padlock.

It is not unusual for French passport holders to have two copies, especially if their business obligations require frequent overseas trips.

Sources said officials with the Justice Ministry and prosecutors believe there is a very high probability that Ghosn got on a private jet that took off on the evening of Dec. 29 from Kansai International Airport bound for Istanbul.

Transport ministry officials have confirmed that flight.

But there are no records showing that Ghosn actually left Japan, so he must have somehow avoided that immigration procedure in leaving the country, the sources said.

Lebanese security officials have said that Ghosn had a French passport in his possession when he entered the nation after arriving from Turkey in a private jet.

According to Turkish media reports on Jan. 2, seven individuals in the country who were believed to have been involved in Ghosn’s fleeing from Japan were detained. Among the seven are four pilots as well as a cargo company employee and two airport workers.

Investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Jan. 2 searched the Tokyo residence of Ghosn for evidence related to a violation of the immigration control law. The search lasted for more than four hours, and investigators left the residence carrying black bags.

Prosecutors have also asked for police cooperation and will examine security camera footage around the Ghosn residence to determine who entered and left the location.

Ghosn was expected to stand trial at the Tokyo District Court on multiple charges of financial misconduct. He has denied the allegations and said in a statement from Lebanon that he “escaped injustice and political persecution.”