Officials from Tokyo's public prosecutors office on Wednesday visited the offices of a Japanese law firm representing ousted Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn to confiscate one of its computers, but the attorneys refused to hand it over.
The agents sent by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office attempted to confiscate the computer at the offices of the firm headed by Junichiro Hironaka, carrying a court order to seize the equipment believed to have been used by Ghosn while he was on bail.
Ghosn's lawyers refused to hand over the equipment as it would have violated the professional lawyer-client confidentiality, sources from the Ghosn's defence team told Efe news.
Eventually, the prosecutors had to leave the office empty-handed.
The computer in question is believed to have been frequently used by Ghosn while he was on bail, as he was not allowed to access the internet at his home or on the phone made available to him by his lawyers, on the judge's orders.
According to these restrictions, the former Nissan boss could only access the internet at his lawyer's offices.
Moreover, the lawyers were required to make the computer's navigation and communications history available to the court.
Ghosn, accused in Japan of financial misconduct, fled the country last week and was later seen in Beirut, where he made statements criticizing the Japanese judicial system.
He is slated to address the media from the Lebanese capital later Wednesday.
