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TOKYO – Former Nissan executive Greg Kelly was handed a six-month suspended sentence today by a Tokyo court over allegations he helped disgraced auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn attempt to conceal income.
The 65-year-old American was detained at the same time as Ghosn in November 2018, but the former Nissan chief jumped bail and fled to Lebanon the following year, leaving Kelly alone to face charges.
Prosecutors had sought two years in prison for Kelly, accusing him of helping Ghosn under-report his income to the tune of ¥9.1 billion (RM330 million) between 2010 and 2018.
But the court found him not guilty on the charges for the financial years 2010 to 2016, and guilty for the financial year 2017, handing down a six-month prison sentence suspended for three years.
The soft-spoken American has always denied the claims, and the trial has been closely watched in Japan and abroad, with the United States ambassador to Tokyo saying the case was a top priority.
Kelly’s team argued the proposed post-retirement payments were never agreed to and there were merely exploratory discussions about a “legal way” to keep Ghosn in the fold after his tenure and prevent him from joining a competitor.
But judge Kenji Shimizu ruled that by fiscal year 2017 Kelly “was aware that there was an unpaid remuneration and the court recognises that there was a conspiracy (between Kelly) with Ghosn and (Nissan executive Toshiaki) Ohnuma”.
Some have viewed Kelly as little more than a scapegoat in a case that centred around Ghosn, whose audacious escape hidden in an audio-equipment box in December 2019 left Japanese prosecutors red-faced.
“Kelly was arrested with the expectation that he could be ‘turned’ to testify against Ghosn,” said Stephen Givens, a business lawyer in Tokyo who has followed the case.
“When Ghosn escaped to Beirut, the prosecutors were left with a weak, free-standing case against Kelly,” he said. – AFP, March 3, 2022