Court OKs bail request for ex-Nissan boss Ghosn, release likely soon

TOKYO, Mar 5, 2019, Kyodo. A Tokyo court approved a bail request Tuesday for former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, paving the way for his release possibly later in the day after more than 100 days in detention, reported the Kyodo.

The Tokyo District Court set bail at 1 billion yen ($9 million), and ordered that Ghosn remain in Japan and be placed under camera surveillance.

Prosecutors appealed the court decision. If it is rejected by the court, the once-feted auto tycoon will likely be released from the Tokyo Detention Center for the first time since his arrest on Nov. 19.

It is rare for a Japanese court to grant bail for a defendant who denies charges before the pre-trial process of narrowing down points of disputes has started. Ghosn’s lengthy confinement has triggered criticism, though more from abroad than in Japan.

The bail request, made Thursday, was the third for Ghosn and the first by his new defense team that took over in mid-February. His previous attempts requests in January were rejected by the court, apparently out of concern that he could somehow destroy evidence.

“I’m glad the court has decided to grant bail. It accepted the strict (monitoring) conditions” that the defense team proposed, Junichiro Hironaka, Ghosn’s new lawyer known for his successes in winning acquittals in high-profile cases, told reporters.

Hironaka told a press conference Monday he was exploring various ways to secure bail for Ghosn and he expected his client to be released in “the near future.”

Ghosn faces three charges — two related to the understatement of billions of yen of remuneration in Nissan’s securities reports over the eight years through March 2018 and one regarding allegations of transferring derivatives losses from his private asset management company to the Japanese automaker. He denies the allegations.

Ghosn appeared at the court in January to seek an explanation for his continuing detention, making his first public appearance since his arrest. The court at the time said he needed to be detained on the grounds that he might destroy evidence or flee Japan.

Ghosn’s close aide Greg Kelly, a former representative director at Nissan, who was also arrested in November for alleged conspiracy in the understatement of Ghosn’s remuneration in securities reports, was granted bail in December. Kelly has also denied the allegations.

While in detention, Ghosn has been stripped of top executive posts at the three-way auto alliance group he created as chairman of Nissan, Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. He was also replaced as Renault CEO by Jean-Dominique Senard after tendering his resignation while in detention.

Ghosn’s departure has focused attention on who will assume the chairmanship of Nissan, a post that remains vacant since Ghosn’s dismissal.

Nissan is hoping to avoid having the new Renault chairman assume its chairmanship, as was the case with Ghosn, while the French automaker apparently wants to lead the alliance by having Senard double as Nissan chairman, sources close to the matter said earlier.

The two companies also disagree over whether they should review their cross-shareholding agreement.

Renault holds a stake of more than 40 percent in Nissan while the Japanese company owns around 15 percent of Renault, a structure that some Nissan executives view as unrepresentative.