Carlos Ghosn’s dramatic escape from Japan to Lebanon last week has raised many questions over how he pulled off such an audacious act, but his motives are not in doubt. With four months to go before his financial misconduct trial was due to begin, the net was closing in on the former auto executive, and he knew it.

Nissan’s one-time saviour had not been permitted to speak to his wife over Christmas, and was disturbed by news that Japanese prosecutors had questioned his son and daughter in the US in early December. For Ghosn, according to sources close to him, it amounted to an attempt to force him to confess.

Prosecutors trying to force confession out of former Nissan chairman, says defence team

Carlos Ghosn’s lawyers have condemned his latest arrest as “inhuman”, claiming it has interrupted his treatment for chronic kidney failure and that prosecutors were attempting to force a confession out of the former Nissan chairman.

According to Reuters, Ghosn’s defence team said in documents prepared after he was arrested for a fourth time last week that Japanese prosecutors were attempting to frustrate their preparations for his trial – a date for which has yet to be set – and trying to force him to confess.

In video message ex-chairman says he is innocent and talks of fears for company’s future

Carlos Ghosn has accused Nissan executives of conspiring to have him arrested over unfounded fears about his plans for the Japanese carmaker, and saying he had been unfairly portrayed as a “dictator” by “backstabbing” former colleagues.

In a video recorded shortly before he was rearrested in Tokyo last week, the former Nissan chairman said he looked forward to a fair trial – a date for which has yet to be set – and he feared for Nissan’s future.

Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa opened meeting with a speech outlining allegations against his former mentor

Nissan shareholders have voted to eject Carlos Ghosn from the board, as the detained former chairman fights multiple financial misconduct charges that have landed him in custody.

The extraordinary shareholders’ meeting at a Tokyo hotel was the first such gathering since the stunning arrest of the 65-year-old auto sector titan on 19 November.

Investigation will now examine payments made to former Nissan chairman before 2017

Renault has said it has so far found no evidence of illegal or fraudulent payments to Carlos Ghosn, despite the chief executive of the French carmaker remaining under arrest in Japan.

Ghosn was arrested in November by Japanese authorities over allegations he under-reported income from Nissan, the carmaker he formerly led alongside Renault. He remains in the custody of Japanese authorities in Tokyo.