French minister welcomes ex-Renault boss' release

PARIS, March 6 (Xinhua) -- French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Wednesday welcomed the release of former Renault boss Carlos Ghosn from a Tokyo detention facility where he had been held over financial wrongdoing.

Asked about the release of the former auto tycoon on 9-million-U.S. dollar bail, Le Maire said: "Carlos Ghosn is being released. He is a French citizen. He will be able to defend himself with greater ease."

"We are not abandoning anyone, but the role of the government is not to interfere in ongoing legal proceedings," he told the local broadcaster Europe 1.

"But my responsibility as finance and economy minister is to make sure that hundreds of thousands of jobs at Renault and at the Renault-Nissan alliance are protected," he added.

Ghosn, also ex-Nissan Motor Co. chairman, left on Wednesday a Tokyo detention facility where he had been since Nov. 19 last year on alleged involvement in financial wrongdoing.

The 64-year-old business leader indicted charges of misreporting his corporate salary and using the company's money for his own purposes, according to his request for release on bail.

While out on bail, Ghosn will be under a travel ban, ensuring he does not leave Japan. He will also have to remain under limited video surveillance and will only be granted restricted access to the use of mobile phones and computers.

Ghosn, widely recognized as the brains and brawn behind Nissan's rapid turnaround since 1999, has resolutely maintained his innocence.