French authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for former auto magnate Carlos Ghosn, who was arrested in Japan at the end of 2018 and fled to Lebanon in dramatic circumstances, prosecutors told AFP on Friday.

The memo issued Thursday relates to more than 15 million euros ($16.3 million) in suspicious payments between the Renault-Nissan alliance that Ghosn once headed, and an Omani company, Suhail Bahwan Automotive, prosecutors said.

The charges against Ghosn, 68, are linked to misuse of company assets, money laundering and corruption.

The businessman, who holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian nationalities, was awaiting trial in Japan after his arrest there in 2018, but he made a daring escape as he was smuggled to Lebanon, where he still resides.

The international arrest warrant issued Thursday by a court in the suburb of Nanterre in Paris sends a strong message to Lebanon, which is not bound by treaties to extradite its citizens to any country, and to prevent Ghosn from leaving its lands.

If the warrant is executed, Ghosn will be summoned to appear before a judge in Nanterre to formally charge him.

The French investigation centers on suspected illicit financial dealings with the Renault-Nissan distributor in Amman, payments by the Netherlands branch to advisers and a former minister, and lavish parties organized at the Palace of Versailles.

The Nanterre judge who is heading the investigation has issued four other arrest warrants targeting current or former managers of "Suhail Bahwan Automobiles" -- the founder of the company, his two sons and the current general manager, sources close to the case told AFP. The four face suspicions of corruption and money laundering.

Christophe Ingran, a lawyer for the founder of Sohail Bahwan, confirmed to AFP that his client "officially denies any role in the violations mentioned in the arrest warrant."

- big development -

Renault, a civil party to the case, said it had "taken note" of the Nanterre prosecutor's actions.

"This is a major development that can be explained in part by the seriousness of the new information that has come out in the open... relating to the hidden financial dealings worth millions of euros between Carlos Ghosn and the founders and directors of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles," Renault lawyer Kami Heri told AFP.

Ghosn's case, which began in 2018, has received worldwide attention.

Ghosn, who was Nissan chairman and headed an alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on suspicion of financial misconduct, along with his top aide, Greg Kelly. Both denied any wrongdoing.

While awaiting trial in Japan in December 2019, he made a daring escape as he was smuggled into Lebanon in the audio equipment box of a private plane.

He said he fled because he did not believe he would get a fair trial in Tokyo.

Nissan was also accused of colluding with prosecutors to arrest him as he sought to deepen the alliance between the Japanese company and Renault.

- A stab in the back -

In 2020, the International Police (Interpol) issued an arrest warrant for Ghosn and informed Beirut that Ghosn is a fugitive from justice from Japan and is wanted by the Tokyo authorities for trial.

The Lebanese authorities, which do not have an extradition treaty with Japan, did not arrest him.

Ghosn is respected in Lebanon, where he lectures at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, near Beirut. But he lives conservatively and refrains from commenting on the political and economic crises in the country.

One of his lawyers, Jean Tamale, told AFP, "This note is surprising because the investigating judge and the public prosecutor in Nanterre know very well that Carlos Ghosn, who has always cooperated with the judiciary, is subject to a judicial ban from leaving Lebanese territory."

French officials visited Beirut twice during the investigation. They heard Ghosn in 2021 as a witness, as he cannot be formally charged unless he is on French soil.

Meanwhile, a Tokyo court handed down a suspended six-month prison sentence to his former aide Kelly on suspicion that he aided Ghosn in his attempt to hide his income.

Prosecutors have sought a two-year prison sentence for Kelly, accusing him of helping Ghosn withhold income of 9.1 billion yen ($79 million) between 2010 and 2018.

But the court acquitted him of charges related to the 2010 to 2016 fiscal years, and convicted him for the 2017 fiscal year.

Ghosn, who has faced additional charges of financial misconduct, has repeatedly maintained his innocence and that of Kelly, noting that Japanese prosecutors worked to help Nissan oust him in what he described as a "coup."

In an interview with the French newspaper "Le Parisien" in February, Ghosn said that he wanted to return to France, but that this was not possible "currently" given the existence of an arrest warrant against him issued by the International Police (Interpol).

"I will certainly return to France when I can do so," he said, denouncing "a stab in the back from the French government and Renault's board of directors," which is a civil party to the case.

French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire declined to comment on Friday's arrest warrant, telling BVMTV/RMC, "Let's let justice do its work."