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Anonymous ID: 56149e Sept. 14, 2020, 7:58 p.m. No.10651945   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2053 >>2090

Ex-aide to former Nissan boss Ghosn pleads not guilty over alleged financial misconduct

 

Greg Kelly, a former Nissan Motor Co. executive who was a close aide of Carlos Ghosn, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday at the Tokyo District Court over allegations that he conspired with the former chairman to underreport his remuneration by millions of yen. Almost two years after his arrest, Kelly, a U.S. citizen, began his long-awaited trial without his former boss, who he says could help prove he is innocent of charges of violating Japan's financial instruments and exchange law. Ghosn, 66, jumped bail to flee to Lebanon in late 2019 fearing being "held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system."

 

Kelly, a 64-year-old former representative director of the automaker, has denied he was involved in a cover-up of Ghosn's compensation, telling Kyodo News in an interview last week, "I'm confident that I'm innocent." "I didn't violate any laws in Japan," he said, adding, "There was no deferred compensation and no promise to pay him," in reference to any post-retirement agreement.

 

In the high-profile case, prosecutors accuse Kelly, arrested in November 2018, of helping Ghosn conceal his remuneration from shareholders by around 9 billion yen ($85 million) over eight years through March of that year, in a scheme to give deferred payments to Ghosn after retirement. According to the indictment and investigative sources, only about 7.9 billion yen was listed in financial reports as Ghosn's pay even though his actual income totaled about 17 billion yen.

 

The court separated Kelly's trial from that of Ghosn after the escape. If convicted, Kelly could face up to 10 years in prison. Unlike Ghosn, Kelly does not face a charge of aggravated breach of trust for allegedly misusing Nissan funds.

 

Nissan itself is also a defendant in the trial, and is expected to plead guilty. Ghosn has also claimed his arrest was the result of a coup staged by Nissan officials. The court has said there will be a total of 76 public hearings until July 9 next year, after which prosecutors and the defense will give their closing arguments before a ruling is handed down.

 

A dozen witnesses are expected to testify throughout the trial, according to a person familiar with the matter, including two Nissan executives whose plea bargain with Tokyo prosecutors helped lead to the arrests.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200915/p2g/00m/0na/021000c