crime

Ex-Nissan exec Kelly says he will prove his innocence without Ghosn

58 Comments
By Noriyuki Suzuki and Takuma Obinata

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58 Comments
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He is now on trial by proxy for Ghosn's alleged crimes. Wouldnt want to be in his shoes.

16 ( +24 / -8 )

What should be an internal corporate matter has become a crime severely impacting innocent people.

It is bordering on a state sham IMO.

16 ( +28 / -12 )

We stand with you Kelly, to see these charges dismissed.

22 ( +30 / -8 )

"I don't think anybody in the world, for this kind of issue that should have been resolved at the corporate level, would want to wait two years in a country that's 6,000 miles from your family. Having to wait this long to even start a trial is very difficult," Kelly said.

Welcome to the Japanese injustice system.

16 ( +29 / -13 )

Good for Kelly, he sat it out and will have his day in court where he can present his arguments and evidence to support his innocence. Unlike Ghosn who jumped bail and is hiding in Lebanon, spouting claims about his innocence which he ensured will never be presented in court. And he avoided presening evidence to support Kelly as well.

Freddy FreewayToday  06:33 am JST

He is now on trial by proxy for Ghosn's alleged crimes. Wouldnt want to be in his shoes.

No he's not. The charges are not exactly the same.

-2 ( +17 / -19 )

The prosecution had 84 boxes of documents, and the defense team is still waiting for 90 percent of these materials.

And the trial begins tomorrow. Ridiculous.

24 ( +33 / -9 )

They are going to tip everything on him, he will be lucky to get out of jail on his legs. I feel sorry for him, tricked into an ambush, Ex colleges cutting deals to save face and he is left on trial for their crimes. But it's Japan expect no justice no mercy.

17 ( +26 / -9 )

Either his defense will prevail or he'll be sent to room 101 where he will be reeducated to believe that 2 + 2 does also equal 5.

12 ( +17 / -5 )

Let be honest here. While they probably let him shoulder all the crimes, he isn't completely innocent nor a saint. So just get this thing over with. Is been dragging long enough and they should not let him buy anymore time. Is wasting tax payer money.

-18 ( +9 / -27 )

prove his innocence....

this is not justice... GOV have to prove not him!

10 ( +20 / -10 )

Corporate torture should be banned.

13 ( +17 / -4 )

@indigoToday

prove his innocence....

this is not justice... GOV have to prove not him!

Well actually Gov will try to prove him guilty and he will need to prove himself innocent that is the same anywhere the problem here is he won't be judged by a panel of his peers but by a government official.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

All he has to do is throw Ghosn under the bus... but we all know he is getting a suspended sentence because Japan has to blame someone.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

@OssanAmerica -

present his arguments and evidence to support his innocence

Yup. Only first world country where you have to prove your innocence as said by the Justice Minister.

7 ( +17 / -10 )

I’m sort of more enliven to believe ge will prove his innocence by blaming Ghosn.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

Good luck my dude. They have already decided you're guilty. Every single wide show yesterday had retired prosecutors and judges saying you're guilty as sin. Even lawyers were saying his legal team is up against the impossible. Your trial is just a show.

7 ( +16 / -9 )

Regardless of whether he's actually guilty, it's ludicrous that the deck is being stacked against him. What happened to presumed innocence and the burden of proof being on the prosecutor?

10 ( +13 / -3 )

It's hilarious how he thinks he can win when he's already been found guilty. The trial is just for appearances. Doesn't matter if he did it or not. The judge won't be unbiased.

7 ( +15 / -8 )

The Japanese government and Nissan have already made up their mind. They need a scapegoat and unfortunately Kelly will be it.

The prosecution had 84 boxes of documents, and the defense team is still waiting for 90 percent of these materials.

And the games begin. I bet they get them just before the trial with no time to prepare and no extension.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

He is taking the wrong tack. He should be attacking the fact he will not receive a fair trial and shame them into letting him go. I suppose if he really does believe he has a chance, it explains why he did not flee the same as Ghosn. Either he is a fool or he is just trying to stay in the good graces of the corrupt system and is playing along in the hopes of a suspended sentence.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

I wish him the best of luck.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

The prosecution had 84 boxes of documents, and the defense team is still waiting for 90 percent of these materials.

Like I have been saying for decades Japans """justice system""" is envied worldwide by all dictators & despots!!

Evil doesnt even BEGIN to describe Japan in this regard

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Injustice is too polite. In Japan the prosecution always wins. In China people disappear, in Russia they are poisoned and in America they are just shot. Outrageous I call it

3 ( +6 / -3 )

justaskingToday  08:08 am JST

@OssanAmerica -

present his arguments and evidence to support his innocence

Yup. Only first world country where you have to prove your innocence as said by the Justice Minister.

Nope, prosecution presents evidence supporting their charge, and defendant presents evidence disproving them. That's what happens in all first world countries.

-3 ( +7 / -10 )

A justice system that would make China proud!

6 ( +13 / -7 )

From Japan Times..."Nissan, which is also similarly charged, has already acknowledged guilt, made corrections to the compensation documents submitted to the authorities, and has started paying a ¥2.4 billion ($22.6 million) fine."

Thats basically what this is about. Not submitting the correct compensation documents to the authorities. Like they missed a Hanko somewhere among the hundreds of documents that "needed" to be submitted. I really don't think foreigners who knew very little about the Japanese tax code would try to rig the system. Unless Ghosn had dozens of Japanese lawyers and tax experts around him when he was committing this crime, I don't see how its possible. Either they're negligent, or these charges are totally fabricated.

12 ( +13 / -1 )

Nope, prosecution presents evidence supporting their charge, and defendant presents evidence disproving them. That's what happens in all first world countries.

....Japan is not even 3rd world in this regard sadly.....

9 ( +13 / -4 )

Nothing was ever promised to Carlos Ghosn. Nothing was ever paid to him," Kelly said in Tokyo a week before the trial.

Weddings at Versailles palace, $6m Amsterdam house renovations, Beirut compound upgrades, $7m to wife’s offshore companies, $20m to son in America’s company. These are all questions that should answered in court. Illegally running away is an admission of guilt.

-10 ( +3 / -13 )

Sad to say but he will get royally shafted to show people not to mess with the rigged system, plus he’s a gaijin.

16 ( +17 / -1 )

Weddings at Versailles palace, $6m Amsterdam house renovations, Beirut compound upgrades, $7m to wife’s offshore companies, $20m to son in America’s company. These are all questions that should answered in court. Illegally running away is an admission of guilt.

Nissan stamped the Hanko on all that documents.

No way that the HR guy(G. Kelly) had anything to do with that.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Let the show trial begin. I hope any foreigner who may be tempted to take up an executive position in a Japanese company on Japanese soil takes a good long look at this sorry story and thinks twice.

12 ( +13 / -1 )

I don't think anybody in the world, for this kind of issue that should have been resolved at the corporate level, would want to wait two years in a country that's 6,000 miles from your family. Having to wait this long to even start a trial is very difficult," Kelly said.

Although Kelly is finally getting to go on trial here, the Japanese judiciary is also on trial. And now the world is watching.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

That is cute. Japan is guaranteed to lock him up for at least 20 years. He is not gonna get free in his lifetime.

No one gets away once it reaches courts in Japan as Japan have more than a 99% conviction rate. The “trial” is just for show as decisions were already made.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

This trial will be conducted the same as a Japanese business meeting. The judge will just tell everybody what to do and lay down a sentence. There will be no discussion or defense. The bird it is already in. They could do away with the court proceedings altogether and just send a fax to the relevant parties.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Ricky Kaminski13Today  11:39 am JST

I don't think anybody in the world, for this kind of issue that should have been resolved at the corporate level, would want to wait two years in a country that's 6,000 miles from your family. Having to wait this long to even start a trial is very difficult," Kelly said.

Although Kelly is finally getting to go on trial here, the Japanese judiciary is also on trial. And now the world is watching.

Nope. That chance was thrown away by Ghosn when he jumped bail. The whole world was watching then. In today's COVID19 world, nobody is "watching".

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

that side of japan really make me sick.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

I wish Kelly luck, he’s going to need it.

Remind me again where Saikawa is?

11 ( +15 / -4 )

Whatever the final verdict, don’t believe there will be much fuss either way on both sides of the border, as public interest on this is waning. Not certain if limited media attention and coverage will prove fortunate or unfortunate for him at the end of the day.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

There is not a judge in this country with ballz big enough to find him not guilty. He will be found guilty and with a suspended sentence. Guaranteed.

Kelly will definitely be found guilty, this is already decided; however, he will almost certainly not getting off with a suspended sentence. Japan wants to make an example of him and also punish him for what happened to Ghosn, I'd be surprised if he does not serve at least 10-20 years.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Meanwhile the Japanese execs are off enjoying their golden parachutes.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Nissan if backed up fully by Japan's Government.[ https://japantoday.com/category/business/nissan-received-record-130-bil.-yen-state-loan-guarantee ]

90% of the evidence has been hidden up until today.

Nissan is barracking with the prosecutors up until the point to declare themselves guilty.

The MOJ is sadly famous for it's obscurity and faulty verdicts.

... they are gonna massacre Kelly.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

I can see Nissan closing its doors once and for all, if not a massive down sizing its business, I would like to see the sales figures for the USA over the last past 2 years, I bet they have dropped. I understand that the C19 virus has not helped. As for Mr Kelly, the writings on the wall already, why bother with a trial? I notice that he is sort of distancing him self from Mr Ghosn

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Yup. Only first world country where you have to prove your innocence a

yeah right, as if George Floyd had his day in court.

Officer, I cant breath !

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

"I would love to have him here as a witness because he could testify," Kelly said of Ghosn. "This is a case about no promise and no pay. So I wish he was here"

Keep dreaming fantasizing, wishing and dreaming mr w. m. ... you are now under the:

Japan's "Tommyknockers" J-system.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The prosecution had 84 boxes of documents, and the defense team is still waiting for 90 percent of these materials.

In another report on JapanTimes:

Wareham, Kelly’s counsel, said prosecutors have sent the equivalent of a billion pages of documents, mostly in English, that can only be examined on a computer at the Tokyo legal team’s office. They have yet to hand over more than 70 7-inch-size boxes full of material marked as evidence, with only two weeks left before the trial opens.

So either the entire case consists of 10 billion pages, or those remaining boxes (paper documents?) don't hold as much as is being implied.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

They would never have brought this patsy to trial if they didn't think that a conviction wasn't assured.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

While he was an executive, he was not getting paid what Ghosn got paid, and there aren't any charges that Mr. Kelly underreported his own income. And he has been unemployed the last two years. I wonder if he has the resources to afford a team of white collar attorneys for the next four months, or if this is yet another way to squeeze him into defeat (a belated plea when he can no longer afford his own defense. The public defenders are not likely to be able to pick up his case halfway through his trial.)

4 ( +4 / -0 )

haha this guy thinks the courts are actually about justice and evidence here haha

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Ghosn fled because he was an old man. He was not expected to get his first day in court until spring of next year. The government was trying his charges consecutively, one after the other, and even if he were found innocent of all charges, he would likely have been held for the next 3 to 5 years as his cases played out. When you are as old as Ghosn, and have not-so-many years between you and the grave, spending any those years in jail or under house arrest is difficult.

in the developed world, people are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and all people have the right to a speedy trial. Ghosn and Kelly both wanted the process to take place as quickly as possible, the government did not.

Even in the legal jungle of America with its huge backlog of criminal and civil cases, had Ghosn and Kelly been tried there, their cases would have been decided and over already.

Having to wait 2 or more years for your first day in court is absurd. Even third world countries have more advanced legal systems.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Ghosn and Kelly have accepted a deal with the SEC and decided to not plead their case in US courts.

So good luck to Mr Kelly to explain innocence in Japan but not in the US on the same charges.

"I don't think anybody in the world, for this kind of issue that should have been resolved at the corporate level, would want to wait two years in a country that's 6,000 miles from your family.

Any foreigner with most of his/her assets and networks abroad, if involved in a case in the US, roughly gets the circumstances he has. Not just in the US. A stupid traffic accident during your holidays can block you for months or years in a foreign country, even just to settle a medical bill. All countries get harsher and harsher after high profile suspects fled.

US based Kelly would not be considered a flight risk by courts in his own country. He'd wait for his court audiences doing barbecue parties with his grand-kiddos. Maybe he should have stayed there.

That's something to consider before signing for an expat package, for any country. The additional risks of ending up in an uncomfortable and uncertain position.

Having to wait 2 or more years for your first day in court is absurd. 

Where that ? Enron scandal started in 2001, let me quote wiki "Lay and Skilling went on trial for their part in the Enron scandal in January 2006. ".

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Why are only foreigners like KELLY on trail ???Why is saikawa not on trail ???.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@coskuri

Ghosn and Kelly have accepted a deal with the SEC and decided to not plead their case in US courts

Nissan, Ghost and Kelly have accepted a deal with the SEC[...]

There, just corrected that for you.

Where that ? Enron scandal started in 2001, let me quote wiki "Lay and Skilling went on trial for their part in the Enron scandal in January 2006. ".

Skilled got arrested Sept. 21, 2006.

Your info is soo much flawed I didn't bother to continue the fact checking.

Please double check the facts before posting.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

US based Kelly would not be considered a flight risk by courts in his own country. He'd wait for his court audiences doing barbecue parties with his grand-kiddos. Maybe he should have stayed there.

He wanted to, because he had neck surgery coming up, but was tricked into coming to Japan for a "meeting" which was actually an arrest trap.

Enron scandal started in 2001, let me quote wiki "Lay and Skilling went on trial for their part in the Enron scandal in January 2006. ".

Were these two people trapped in holding cells for the entire five years, as they would be in Japan, or were they in their own homes, free to consult with lawyers, prepare their defense, and even prepare for an eventual guilty verdict by getting their affairs in order and saying goodbye to loved ones?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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