<figure id="attachment_267084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-267084" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8adbdff5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/09/IMG-20220909-WA0003.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-267084" class="wp-caption-text">The &#8220;Monty Club&#8221;. Defendant Ghosn, the actual owner, has reopened the club.</figcaption></figure>
 Three full years have passed since Carlos Ghosn, 68, fled to Lebanon. He is said to be showing his prowess as an entrepreneur amid the narrowing of the siege, including international arrests by Japan and France.
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 Last September, an exclusive members-only club opened in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The club is located on the sixth floor of a high-rise building in the center of the city, and the interior is decorated in a stylish style.
 After passing a rigorous screening process and paying an annual membership fee of $10,000 (about 1,280,000 yen), members can dine and hold business meetings in the club. Ostensibly, the club is headed by the manager of a telecommunications company, but Mr. Ghosn, who pays the most money to the club, is the actual owner.
 Lebanon&#8217;s economic situation worsened following the currency crisis in 2007, and in 2008 the country defaulted on its debt, with prices soaring more than tenfold over the past three years. Bank accounts were frozen, and citizens were unable to withdraw even their savings freely. In such a situation, only a handful of people can afford to pay the $10,000 membership fee for a high-end club, but the club has been thriving since its opening.
 I have never heard of a club in Lebanon that charges such a high membership fee. For ordinary people who are struggling to make a living, it must be a different world. However, for some executives, it seems to be different, and they are constantly receiving members every day. Business is going well,&#8221; he said.
<h2> A favorable court case in Lebanon: &#8230;&#8230;</h2>
<figure id="attachment_267086" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-267086" style="width: 2199px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="53899c1a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/09/IMG-20220909-WA0012.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-267086" class="wp-caption-text"> The annual membership fee of $10,000 is extremely high in Lebanon, which is in the midst of an economic crisis. Only the super elite of the political and business world can enter.</figcaption></figure>
 On the other hand, Ghosn has recently been giving away memberships &#8220;for free&#8221; to a select group of people.
 He has been giving out free passes to court officials, politicians, military personnel, and others. The aim is clearly to protect his own safety. Last June, French authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Ghosn on suspicion of misappropriation of Renault company funds. He does not have to worry about extradition to Japan, which also has an international arrest warrant, but if France, which has strong ties with Lebanon, decides to prosecute him, he may be forced to appear before a court there.
 To prevent this from happening, they want to get the ruling class in Lebanon on their side and have a favorable trial in their own country. Once a verdict is made in Renovanon, France will not be able to try him for the same crime because of the principle of laches,&#8221; said another acquaintance of Ghosn.
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 Ghosn is pursuing various businesses and projects in addition to the exclusive members-only clubs, all of which appear to be strategies to protect himself.
 He has invested the assets he has amassed through his and his family&#8217;s numerous businesses, including banks, wineries, and media outlets, to produce a documentary film about himself and to publish a book in which he proclaims his innocence to the world. He has formed a cooperative relationship with Holy Spirit University, which belongs to the Maronite sect of Christianity that the ruling class in Lebanon adheres to, and has started a special lecture course for working people with a high auditing fee of $20,000 (about 2,560,000 yen) since the year before last.
 This is also aimed at building a network with other influential people. He is also eager to enter the political arena with the idea that he will not be arrested if he becomes a cabinet minister, and he has been making impassioned speeches at meetings with politicians, saying, &#8220;If I become a minister, I will be able to help save Lebanon. All of his actions are calculated.
 The public has been repeatedly astonished by Ghosn&#8217;s deceptive tactics, such as his disguise when he was released on bail and his escape by hiding himself in a musical instrument case. We wonder what kind of measures the defendant will take the next time the investigators are close at hand.
<figure id="attachment_267087" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-267087" style="width: 2040px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6fc48a54"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/09/IMG-20220909-WA0013.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-267087" class="wp-caption-text"> The luxurious interior of the club. The club&#8217;s website advertises &#8220;unparalleled atmosphere and service.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_267085" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-267085" style="width: 2147px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="dee2e3f0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/09/IMG-20220909-WA0006.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-267085" class="wp-caption-text"> The club offers fine wines, cigars, and steaks. Through this social gathering place, Ghosn intends to build a pipeline to the political world.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_293866" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-293866" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b2b69deb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/c7256aedf7e71d2fc4e847c278f8f217.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-293866" class="wp-caption-text"> Ghosn walking arm in arm with his wife, Carol, in March 2007.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_293867" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-293867" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4eeda71b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/82d01fa56bbaa872309264cb6adf3d5e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-293867" class="wp-caption-text"> Ghosn gets into a white Mercedes Benz in March 2007. He stubbornly refuses to drive a Nissan car, including a Suzuki mini-car when he was released on bail.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_293868" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-293868" style="width: 3488px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="fcba713b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/02/9fe72fdcab9c93fa0ca28543e465fd5d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-293868" class="wp-caption-text"> Ghosn walking arm in arm with his wife, Carol, in March 2007.</figcaption></figure>

 Journalist, born in Tochigi Prefecture in 1965. He has covered a wide range of topics from nuclear power plant issues to professional baseball. He is active mainly in magazines such as "FRIDAY," "Weekly Playboy," and "Asahi Weekly.

 Shun Kirishima

 Takero Yui

 Carlos Ghosn, who has been on the run, opened an exclusive club in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The annual fee is 1.28 million yen, but there are also free tickets. What is Ghosn's aim in offering a large sum of money to the ruling class in Lebanon?

Carlos Ghosn gives away free passes to celebrities to save his own skin&#8230; Inside Carlos Ghosn&#8217;s &#8220;exclusive club with an annual fee of 1,280,000 yen

Carlos Ghosn gives away free passes to celebrities to save his own skin… Inside Carlos Ghosn’s “exclusive club with an annual fee of 1,280,000 yen

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