TOKYO (AP) – Former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who was arrested in connection with his former boss Carlos Ghosn’s financial scandal, will soon be prosecuted in a Tokyo court. Both cases had been in limbo after Ghosn fled to Lebanon.
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FILE: In this Dec. 25, 2018, file photo, Kelly Motor Co. executive Greg Kelly, center, leaves the Tokyo Detention Center in Tokyo. Former Nissan executive Kelly, who was arrested in connection with his former boss Carlos Ghosn’s financial scandal, will soon be tried in a Tokyo court. Both cases had been in limbo after Ghosn fled to Lebanon. Tokyo’s Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hiroshi Yamamoto said Thursday, July 30, 2020 that the trial of Kelly, an American, and Nissan Motor Co., a defendant in the same trial as a company, will begin on September 15. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
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A sign is seen from the Tokyo District Court where former Nissan Motor Co. executive Greg Kelly arrives for a pre-trial meeting in Tokyo on Thursday, July 30, 2020. The former Nissan executive Kelly, who was arrested In connection with his former boss Carlos Ghosn’s financial scandal, he will soon be tried in a Tokyo court. Both cases had been in limbo after Ghosn fled to Lebanon. (AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko)
Tokyo’s deputy chief prosecutor, Hiroshi Yamamoto, said Thursday that the trial of Kelly, an American, and of Nissan Motor Co., a defendant in the same trial as a company, will begin on September 15.
He said prosecutors had “a solid case” to back allegations that Kelly was involved in Ghosn’s alleged lack of information about future compensation.
Ghosn publicly denounced the allegations as unfounded and accused Nissan officials of a conspiracy to expel him. He lives in Lebanon, which does not have an extradition treaty with Japan.
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FILE – In this Jan. 10, 2020, file photo, former Nissan President Carlos Ghosn speaks to Japanese media during an interview in Beirut, Lebanon. Two men wanted by Japan for helping to get Ghosn out of the country in a box are due to return in front of a Boston federal judge on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 to plead for his release from prison. (Meika Fujio / Kyodo News via AP)
Kelly, who also says he is innocent, appeared in a pre-trial session on Thursday. Such sessions are closed in Japan, and other details were not disclosed.
It is unclear how the Kelly and Nissan combined tests will progress. While Kelly claims his innocence, Nissan has acknowledged his guilt, seeking to distance himself from Ghosn and Kelly.
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He is seen at the Tokyo District Court where former Nissan Motor Co. executive Greg Kelly arrives for a pre-trial meeting in Tokyo on Thursday July 30, 2020. The former Nissan executive Kelly, who was arrested in connection With the financial scandal of his former Chief Carlos Ghosn, he will soon be tried in a Tokyo court. Both cases had been in limbo after Ghosn fled to Lebanon. (AP Photo / Eugene Hoshiko)
Kelly, a lawyer, was arrested at the same time as Ghosn in November 2018. He was released on bail about a month later and has since lived in Japan.
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Separately, Japan seeks the extradition of two Americans, Michael Taylor and Peter Taylor, wanted on charges of smuggling Ghosn out of Japan in a large box. They are detained in a Massachusetts jail without bond.
U.S. court documents show that Ghosn transferred more than $ 860,000 to a company linked to Peter Taylor in October 2019, and Ghosn’s son also made crypto payments totaling $ 500,000 this year.
United States District Judge Indira Talwani said this week that she will rule soon on the extradition request.
Nissan, based in the port city of Yokohama, Japan, expects its second consecutive annual red ink for the fiscal year until March 2021, its brand marred by the scandal and its global sales crushed amid the virus outbreak.
Japanese media reported that the Kelly and Nissan trial will likely last approximately a year due to the large amount of evidence involved, including the testimony of former Nissan chief executive Hiroto Saikawa.
Saikawa replaced Ghosn, but resigned last year on his own accusations of financial misconduct. He has not been charged.
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Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
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