A former Nissan Motor Company executive has been handed a guilty verdict over charges of helping ex-Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn commit financial misconduct during part of his tenure at the company.
Nissan admitted its participation and was slapped with a fine of 200 million yen
The Tokyo District Court contends that Greg Kelly was responsible for helping underreport Ghosn’s compensation to financial regulators. Kelly, 65, previously served as representative director for Nissan, and oversaw human resources as well as legal affairs at the automaker.
He was eventually arrested in November 2018 along with Ghosn in one of the most high-profile corporate takedowns of the last 10 years. A panel of three judges issued the verdict last March 3, 2022, concluding 17 months of proceedings. Although found guilty, Kelly will serve a six-month suspended sentence, allowing him to return to the U.S. immediately.
Prosecutors wanted a two-year prison term for Kelly
Prosecutors had earlier demanded a two-year prison sentence for Kelly, alleging that he conspired with Nissan and Ghosn to underreport the latter’s compensation as chairman by 9 billion yen (more than Php 4.07 billion) over eight years through 2018. During the trial, Nissan admitted its participation and was slapped with a fine of 200 million yen (more than Php 90.3 million).
Kelly was found guilty of misconduct for 2017, having been cleared of involvement for prior years. He has maintained his innocence throughout, claiming that there was no agreement to pay Ghosn and no requirement to disclose such information. Ghosn escaped to Lebanon (which has no extradition treaty with Japan) in 2019 and is wanted as an international fugitive.
Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is in Lebanon as a wanted international fugitive
Kelly’s legal team will reportedly appeal the court’s decision, even as the verdict is a rare occurrence in Japan’s legal system where prosecutors typically win cases.
In a press statement, Nissan expressed regret that it was unable to prevent the misconduct and considered the penalty levied against it as a fair judgment. The company adds that it takes the matter extremely seriously, pledging to work in improving its governance and reforming its corporate culture.
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