BEIRUT/NEW YORK -- A close relationship is becoming apparent between Lebanon, the country to which former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn has fled, and two men of U.S. nationality who are believed to have helped Ghosn escape.
It is possible that a "Lebanon network," including a relative of Ghosn, 65, who has been indicted for aggravated breach of trust in violation of the Companies Law, prepared for Ghosn's escape overseas.
One of the men, who is related to a security company, has an apartment in a suburb of Beirut. On Jan. 6, when an elderly woman at the apartment was asked where the man was, she only said that he was not there and closed the door.
A neighbor said that the man was said to go abroad frequently and was rarely seen locally.
According to a Lebanese government source, the man was born in Lebanon and took part in the Lebanese civil war around 1980 as a member of a Maronite Christian militia called the Lebanese Forces. He later undertook tasks from a private military and security company, and he specialized in rescuing hostages in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A female acquaintance said that he was loyal and that he found it rewarding to help oppressed people.
A source related to the Lebanese Forces said the wife of the former supreme commander of the forces is a Ghosn relative. The woman was confirmed to have visited Ghosn's home in Beirut after Ghosn arrived in Lebanon.
Ghosn spent about 10 years in Lebanon from the age of 6 and is known to be a Maronite Christian.
Another man involved in Ghosn's escape was a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets.
That man, 59, founded a private military and security company in the United States in 1994 before being indicted in 2012 on charges of bribing a U.S. military official in connection with a contract.
He was imprisoned for 14 months in Utah. In an interview with a media outlet for U.S. military veterans, he had expressed sympathy for Ghosn, saying that Ghosn was held hostage and was treated badly in Japan.
According to U.S. court records, the man was dispatched to Lebanon in 1982 and was involved in training members of the Lebanese Forces and other activities even after he was discharged in 1983. In 1985, he married a Lebanese local woman. His company's customers range from airlines to government officials. In 2009, he was involved in the rescue of a New York Times reporter who had been held in Afghanistan.
He is believed to have met the other man related to the security company in Lebanon. They also worked together for the former Green Beret's company for more than 10 years. A Lebanese newspaper reporter said that it does not seem a coincidence that the people involved are connected via Lebanon.
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