Lebanon receives Interpol arrest notice for Ghosn: state media

Beirut, Jan 2 (AFP) Lebanon's judiciary has received a red notice from Interpol for the arrest of fugitive auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday. It quoted Justice Minister Albert Sarhan as announcing that "the public prosecutor... has received what is known as a red notice from Interpol in the Carlos Ghosn case."

The French-Lebanese former Nissan boss, who had been under house arrest in Japan over several counts of financial misconduct, escaped in mysterious circumstances and arrived in Beirut on Monday. Interpol, which is headquartered in the French city of Lyon, is an international organisation that facilitates worldwide police cooperation.

An Interpol 'red notice' is a request to police across the world to provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. It is not an arrest warrant. A Lebanese judicial source has already told AFP however that Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition agreement under which Ghosn -- who holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian nationalities -- could be sent back to Tokyo. (AFP) RUP