Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn used two of its planes to illegally escape from Japan, with an employee falsifying lease records to exclude his name from the documents. 

Ghosn left his Tokyo residence after a private security firm hired by Nissan Motor Co stopped monitoring him, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday. 

MNG Jet said it had filed a criminal complaint about the incident, a day after the Turkish police detained seven people, including four pilots, as part of an investigation into Ghosn's passage through Istanbul en route to Lebanon.

Ghosn has become an international fugitive after he revealed on Tuesday he had fled to Lebanon to escape what he called a "rigged" justice system in Japan, where he faces charges relating to alleged financial crimes.

Lebanon on Thursday received an Interpol arrest warrant for Ghosn, whose surprise escape from his home in Tokyo to a separate home in Beirut has not been fully explained.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the diminutive Ghosn slipped out of Japan aboard a private jet hidden in a large black case typically used to carry audio gear. He was accompanied by a pair of men with names matching those of American security contractors, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with Turkey's probe into the escape.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing investigative sources, said a surveillance camera captured the former Nissan Motor Co chairman leaving his Tokyo residence alone shortly before his escape.

The security footage was taken by a camera installed at his house in central Tokyo around noon, on Sunday, and the camera did not show him returning home, NHK said.

By early Monday, he had touched down in Istanbul.

MNG Jet said in its statement it leased two jets to two different clients in agreements that "were seemingly not connected to each other." One plane flew from Osaka to Istanbul, the other from Istanbul to Beirut.

"The name of Mr. Ghosn did not appear in the official documentation of any of the flights," it said.

"After having learnt through the media that the leasing was benefiting Mr. Ghosn and not the officially declared passengers, MNG Jet launched an internal inquiry and filed a criminal complaint in Turkey," it added.

An employee admitted to falsifying the records and confirmed he "acted in his individual capacity," the company said.

The pilots and other detainees, including two airport ground staff and one cargo worker, were sent to court on Friday after giving statements to police, according to a Reuters witness.

Late on Friday, the court ruled to formally arrest five of the suspects, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. The other two suspects were released from custody, according to media reports.

Turkish interior ministry spokesman Ismail Catakli told reporters earlier, on Friday, that Ghosn was believed to have been transferred through the cargo section of the airport in Istanbul, but did not provide further details.

Ghosn has said he will speak publicly about his escape on January 8.

Fled after security firm stopped surveillance

Nissan had hired a private security company to watch Ghosn, who was on bail and awaiting trial, to check whether he met any people involved in the case, the three sources said.

But his lawyers warned the security company to stop watching him as it would be a violation of his human rights, and Ghosn was planning to file a complaint against the company, the sources said.

The security company stopped its surveillance by December 29, the sources said.

One of his lawyers, Junichiro Hironaka, told reporters in November that they were considering steps to prevent people from stalking Ghosn.

A Nissan spokesperson declined to comment.

It was unclear how Ghosn, who holds French, Brazilian, and Lebanese citizenship, was able to orchestrate his departure from Japan. He entered Lebanon legally on a French passport, one source has told Reuters.

He was first arrested in Tokyo in November 2018, shortly after his private jet touched down at the airport. He faces four charges - which he denies - including hiding income and enriching himself through payments to dealerships in the Middle East.

(With inputs from Reuters.)