Ghosn's aide Kelly stands high chance of acquittal: ex-prosecutor

facing charges in Japan for underreporting his salary at Nissan Motor Co

Again, why is Kelly facing charges for this when all the other Nissan executives were asked to pay back the money and some were allowed to resign while others remained. But Kelly is facing charges?

stands a very high chance of being acquitted

From the moment this entire case became a public spectacle and Ghosn ran off, Kelly was going to be acquitted. He was cannon fodder for going after Ghosn. Without Ghosn, the prosecutors will look ridiculous pursuing Kelly when they let the entire Nissan executives off for what Kelly is being charged with.

Right, put out this trial balloon AFTER the Ghosen decides to take matters into his own hands!

A top aide to Carlos Ghosn who is facing charges in Japan for underreporting his salary at Nissan Motor Co stands a very high chance of being acquitted, as would Ghosn had he remained in Japan to face trial, a former prosecutor said.

What a load of rubbish! Yeah, both of them 'could' be acquitted 'if' they can hold out for years in detention with daily interrogations and threats of "Confess or it will get worse for you." Then, even if they are acquitted, they will get no compensation for being wrongly accused, unfairly incarcerated and slandered through the Japanese media for what could be five years or more. Personally, I don't blame Ghosn for doing a runner from this ridiculous injustice system, He is one of the few lucky ones who have the resources to take such a bold move. There are thousands who are stuck in a Japanese prison suffering the pathetic wrath of this stupid system, Kelly being one of them.

An aquital after being harassed by the Japanese prosecutors for 5+ years and millions of dollars in bail would surely attract molany foreign executives to come work in Japan LOL

The trial of the two men and Nissan, which is also facing the same charge, is due to begin in 2021. It was unclear whether the schedule would be updated after Ghosn's escape.

The prosecutors have such a "Slam Dunk" case, that it will take another whole year of preparation.

sarcasm

Gohara said a separate trial over aggravated breach of trust would likely drag on for years as prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to prove Ghosn was guilty of crimes including temporarily shifting a personal loss-making currency transaction onto Nissan's books.

Oh, what's this? I smell hypocrisy. Didn't the ministry of justice proudly declare the other day that prosecutors only bring a case to court if there is a high chance of conviction, aka clear evidence? Blatant lies from them yet again.

Maybe Ghosn’s flight was the best thing that could have happened to Nissan. It would have been a lot of trouble for the car maker’s Japanese executives if Ghosn had been put to trial and acquitted.

Oh, what's this? I smell hypocrisy. Didn't the ministry of justice proudly declare the other day that prosecutors only bring a case to court if there is a high chance of conviction, aka clear evidence? Blatant lies from them yet again.

This guy is an ex-prosecutor, not one of them. So this can't be a blatant lie by them as theses were not their words.

The trial of the two men and Nissan, which is also facing the same charge, is due to begin in 2021. It was unclear whether the schedule would be updated after Ghosn's escape.

I'd laugh my ass off if Kelly escaped. I thought Ghosn's trial was finally set to start in April?

Japan's Ministry of Justice has said it will try to find a way to bring Ghosn back from Lebanon

No doubt they'll waste time and money trying.

Kelly can thank the court of world opinion..and Ghosn. Ghosn NEVER would’ve received a fair trial. NEVER. Let’s let Japan save face and quickly move on and acquit Kelly.

Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact Ghosn could've been detained for years before going to trial in Japan. Who'd want to wait for that? Who even knows when Kelly will be going to trial.

Ghosn's aide Kelly stands high chance of acquittal: ex-prosecutor

Of course. Because now all eyes are on Japan. So they have to show some semblance of fairness. Ghosn did the right thing. and he has constantly mentioned Kelly during his speeches.

What a load of rubbish! Yeah, both of them 'could' be acquitted 'if' they can hold out for years in detention with daily interrogations and threats of "Confess or it will get worse for you." Then, even if they are acquitted, they will get no compensation for being wrongly accused, unfairly incarcerated and slandered through the Japanese media for what could be five years or more. Personally, I don't blame Ghosn for doing a runner from this ridiculous injustice system, He is one of the few lucky ones who have the resources to take such a bold move. There are thousands who are stuck in a Japanese prison suffering the pathetic wrath of this stupid system, Kelly being one of them.

Couldn't possibly agree more

Good that this horrific feudal system is scrutinized and criticized globally,newspaper from my country are still talking about it.

For sure no matter what the J-apologist/right wingers will bring up to the plate,the international reputation of Japan is badly damaged in the juridical field.

But unlike a free democracy like Denmark,Germany or Sweden where the press can have different opinions from the government people in Japan are mostly brainwashed by their censorship.

Yeah, say this AFTER Ghosn has left!

If he is acquitted then he is part of the lucky 0.01%, but that does mean for the rest of the year 99.9% are of course guilty. It's just the way the system works.

@Lorem ipsumToday 07:35 am JST

Oh, what's this? I smell hypocrisy. Didn't the ministry of justice proudly declare the other day that prosecutors only bring a case to court if there is a high chance of conviction, aka clear evidence? Blatant lies from them yet again.

Hey, hey, hey. Don't go all one way because Gohara said something. At best that is his opinion, based only on hearing a one-sided tale from Ghosn.

This could have been over in a few days to weeks, not years and years.

MOJ...look its easy, just have Ghosn and Kelly practice the apology bow and memorize the right lines to public acceptance. There you go - done!

JJ JetplaneToday  06:53 am JST

facing charges in Japan for underreporting his salary at Nissan Motor Co

Again, why is Kelly facing charges for this when all the other Nissan executives were asked to pay back the money and some were allowed to resign while others remained. But Kelly is facing charges?

Not sure if there were any deal between them and prosecutors... like plea bargains

As far as Nissan's stance based on it's internal investigations, you can refer to the report, last page.

https://www.nissan-global.com/PDF/190909-02-j_01.pdf

showchinmonoToday  12:09 pm JST

JJ JetplaneToday  06:53 am JST

facing charges in Japan for underreporting his salary at Nissan Motor Co

Again, why is Kelly facing charges for this when all the other Nissan executives were asked to pay back the money and some were allowed to resign while others remained. But Kelly is facing charges?

Not sure if there were any deal between them and prosecutors... like plea bargains

As far as Nissan's stance based on it's internal investigations, you can refer to the report, last page.

https://www.nissan-global.com/PDF/190909-02-j_01.pdf

I meant it to be English one.

https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/DOCUMENT/PDF/FINANCIAL/TSE/2019/20190909TDnet_E2.pdf

Note this report was already out in summer last year

If Kelly is acquitted that would pretty much wrap it up for the Japanese prosecutors. It would show that the allegations against Ghosn and Kelly should have never resulted in detainment. In addition, others in Nissan were not detained for the same allegations. The inconsistency in how members related to this case are being treated and the fact that these financial matters should have been addressed internally in the first place is quickly eroding the prosecutors’ credibility worldwide. The prosecutors realized this, which is why we see defensive declarations from the prosecutors that Japan’s justice system is humane. But it’s too late. The prosecutors know Japan’s justice system is what’s on trial and that There Will Be Books!

the international reputation of Japan is badly damaged in the juridical field.

You do know that Japan's judicial system was created by a 19th century Frenchman and based on the Napoleonic Code, right?

Also, Ghosn is no Papillon. He played with fire and got caught.

@showchinmono

As regards the executive officers who benefited from overpayment, Nissan also intends to ensure appropriate redress

That's reassuring, then. /s

@Osaka_Doug

The scenario I see playing out is that they will 'convince' Kelly to admit he made a mistake threatening a lengthy trial and then the court will charge him but give him a suspended sentence.

But would he rather have his freedom or keep his integrity? If he admits to anything, the prosecutors win and that's not something we want.

There's a chance that he will be acquitted and the prosecutors will claim "Hey, look. It's not all win for us. We lose sometimes, so our Justice system is fair."

"Saving face" probably plays more into the MOJ decisions that the Japanese public tolerates. They shouldn't -- saving face is not reality or the truth.

Well the prosecutors have no interest in finding the truth, If they did than they would have realized how they have been used by the French and Nissan. At this point it is all about saving face, In all probability they will cut a deal with Kelly and let him go, will Kelly play along or not is the question.

@WobotToday  05:35 pm JST

To be fair, a lot of people would not look a gift horse in the mouth if a load of extra money showed up on their bank account, or they picked up money off the street. There is a significant gap between this and actively trying to get money in illegal ways.

@justasking Today 03:45 pm JST

Why are you so sure that "integrity" means not admitting guilt?

There seems to be many people who are very sure that the Japanese don't have much on Ghosn and Kelly. The evidence gathered by the other countries aside, there is reason to believe that the Japanese already have more on him than Ghosn or a defence lawyer would like.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/plltakano/archives/65949422.html

Lawyer Takano's attempt to ask evidence be "secured". Here's the problem - if the prosecutors got nothing on Ghosn, there would be no need to look for exculpatory evidence. The fact this became a problem strongly indicates that the prosecutors have lots on Ghosn (and by extension Kelly), so his advocate is trying for a fishing expedition in hopes of finding counterevidence he isn't sure is there.

As an aside, reading his submission, I can easily see why it bounced. Ultimately, he hasn't really provided any evidence to prove connivance between Nissan and the prosecutors (at least beyond that common between prosecution and victim). Given that, when the prosecutor made a statement on what they are doing, with no other evidence the judge had no choice but to accept the fact version offered by the prosecutor.

So much for a speedy trial 2021 or 2022 so he needs to wait under house arrest until then so basically he is a hostage. Specially if he will likely be aquitted as Gohara suggests I hope they have some form of compensation for time spent and it is means tested the same way that they set his bail.

What a whitewash, they just magically happened to not notice a load of extra money turning up in their bank accounts and neither did the accountants notice it going out, the people supposed to be checking

1st of all, this kind of post proves quite a few posters here are JUST POSTING comments, which I don't blame.

2ndly, I advise you to read the report twice or three times.

Lastly , You have freedom of thought ( and post here) , and can cook the official reports by Nissan (which was already charged by US SEC and settled it) anyway you want, just like I enjoy freedom of thought in such way Ghosn and Kelly are both ＶＥＲＹ black with premeditated crimes

As regards the executive officers who benefited from overpayment, Nissan also intends to ensure appropriate redress

That's reassuring, then. /s

Good if it reassured you all, then. /s

Ghosn's lawyer N°526 ? 527 ? 528?

I believe that there was a very high chance for Mr Ghosn to be acquitted based on the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act,"

Sensei, it's done : Ghosn and Kelly ARE NOT ACQUITTED .

They accepted to pay USD$ 15M and 1M and dishounorable bans of activity in the US. The SEC claim was "based on the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act," in the US. The Japanese act is an exact translation of the US one.

prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to prove Ghosn was guilty of crimes including temporarily shifting a personal loss-making currency transaction onto Nissan's books.

That was proven enough to cause the bank authority of Japan to make the Shinsei Bank cancel the operation.

Ghosn is no Papillon

At least Papillon (Henri Charrière) was a talented writer.

This here is ridiculous because the Japanese criminal Justice system is so unfair and no one gets a fair trial period since US criminal Justice system, anyone gets a fair trial but Japan seriously needs to reform it's criminal Justice system is injustice and needs fixing as well. There's a reason why YouTubers are criticizing the Japanese Criminal Justice System because it's an injustice and no one gets a fair trial period. Japan must reform and change the Japanese Criminal Justice System, otherwise the whole world of Youtubers will criticize Japan of them because of this and this is gonna be on Japan's head, not ours

Nothing any japanese can do now , will change history. Everything thatb happened in the Carlos case can be an excuse , japanese way any more.

Prosecutors (In Japan): "Mr. Ghosn, please come back since you have a high chance you'll be aquitted." (Extremely low bow into TV camera).

Ghosn (From residence in Lebanon): "Yeah, nah".