Former Nissan Motor Co. director Greg Kelly’s conviction was upheld by a three-judge panel. He was charged with helping former Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn to under-report his compensation, Bloomberg reported.
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Ghosn was arrested in November 2018 on accusations of underreporting his compensation and Kelly, who was arrested on the same day, was convicted in March 2022 for aiding this.
This ended up destroying Nissan’s alliance with longtime partner Renault. Nissan’s profits then fell and it led to an exodus of top management.
It also left Nissan in a weak position to navigate an industry being disrupted by electrification and autonomous driving. As a result, Nissan is now in talks with Honda Motor Co. for a merger under a holding company, effectively bringing it under the control of its longtime rival.
However, Ghosn denied the charges and later fled Japan in late 2019 by a private jet to Lebanon, where he now lives.
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When the lower court found Kelly guilty on one count for a single fiscal year, it cleared him of the majority of charges for the other years as well as gave him a suspended sentence, according to the report.
However, Kelly’s trial which lasted 17 months ended up becoming a substitute for that of Ghosn. He then left Japan after the verdict and hasn’t returned since.
Kelly’s lawyer Yoichi Kitamura said he will appeal the case to a higher court, according to the report.
His lawyers had argued that he had no motive to overpay Ghosn and wasn’t privy to any plans, discussions or conspiracy to do so, the report read.
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Kelly, who formerly oversaw human resources and legal affairs at Nissan, argued there wasn’t an agreement to pay Ghosn. He added that there was a requirement to disclose compensation and that Ghosn, his former boss, was never paid.
However, the prosecutors asserted that Kelly should be found guilty on other counts, claiming the testimony of Toshiaki Onuma, who ran the secretarial office for Nissan’s executives, paints a picture of a coordinated effort to hide Ghosn’s pay.
