TOKYO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The office of a lawyer who formerly represented ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn who recently jumped bail and fled to Lebanon was searched by Tokyo prosecutors on Wednesday, sources close to the matter said.
Junichiro Hironaka, who had represented Ghost prior to resigning from the case on Jan. 16 after his client jumped bail and escaped from Japan on Dec. 29, had previously refused to allow prosecutors to seize a computer used at the office by the ex-auto tycoon.
On Jan. 8, Hironaka denied access to investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office who intended to seize the computer from his office, believing Ghosn may have used it in connection with his dramatic escape from Japan while on bail.
Hironaka at the time had opted not to hand over the computer of his own volition and did not allow the investigators to enter his office, stating that in terms of lawyers' confidentiality, "we used the right to refuse seizure based on criminal procedure law, and asked the investigators to leave."
Ghosn, 65, first arrested on Nov. 19, 2018 for alleged financial misconduct, fled Japan for Lebanon via Turkey, to escape what he called the "rigged Japanese judicial system."
Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon in breach of his bail conditions and under dramatic circumstances, possibly hiding in a large case used to carry musical equipment and departing on a private jet from Kansai International Airport, in Osaka Prefecture.
Prosecutors and police here have been trying to determine exactly how Ghosn managed to fund and carry out the costly escape while under strict bail conditions limiting his access to phones, computers and mandating he stay in a surveilled residence.
Japan has been seeking cooperation from Lebanon in trying to better understand Ghosn's escape from Japan.
Japan and Lebanon have no extradition treaty, meaning Ghosn, who was facing charges of under-reporting his remuneration in Nissan's securities reports and misusing company funds, cannot be handed over to Japan to face trail without Lebanon agreeing.
Hironaka on announcing his resignation as Ghosn's lawyer said he now had "nothing to do" with his former client.
Other lawyers also comprising the former auto bigwig's defense counsel have also left the case.
