Carlos Ghosn walked out of a Tokyo prison on bail after 108 days in detention, vowing to fight allegations of financial crimes that could imprison the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman for as long as a decade.
Flanked by police officers and wearing a light blue baseball cap, face mask and eyeglasses, Ghosn left the detention center where he’d been locked up since his Nov. 19 arrest. A Tokyo court on Tuesday granted his release and subsequently upheld its decision after an appeal by prosecutors. His bail of 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) is among the highest ever in Japan.
Getting out on bail allows Ghosn to prepare for a trial that’s likely months away. His surprise arrest and imprisonment on allegations of financial misdeeds roiled the two-decade auto alliance between Nissan and Renault SA and cast a harsh light on aspects of Japan’s legal system. Ghosn initially wasn’t granted access to lawyers and had two previous bail applications rejected.
“I am innocent and totally committed to vigorously defending myself in a fair trial against these meritless and unsubstantiated accusations,” Ghosn, 64, said earlier in a statement.
Ghosn — accused of aggravated breach of trust and filing false statements to regulators regarding about $80 million in deferred income during his time as Nissan’s chairman — could face as many as 10 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say Ghosn failed to report the full amount of his expected retirement compensation, and that he transferred a personal trading loss to Nissan.
Prosecutors lodged the breach of trust charge for acts related to payments — from a pool of money that only he had the authority to use — to a company controlled by the automaker’s Saudi Arabian business partner, Khaled Juffali. Ghosn’s team likely will argue that Nissan approved the $14.7 million in payments.
“He’s able to collect information and it will be easier to communicate with his lawyers and work out a defense strategy,” said Nobuko Otsuki, a Tokyo-based defense lawyer not connected to the case.
To win approval of his bail application, Ghosn agreed to several restrictions.
CARLOS GHOSN’S BAIL CONDITIONS
Must reside in Japan and cannot travel abroad. Must agree to have cameras at the exit and entrance of his home. Will have restrictions using his mobile phone. Must agree not to access the internet. Must not contact people involved in the case. Can only use the computer at his lawyer’s office during business hours.
“The bail conditions are severe, but we will make sure to comply with them,” Ghosn’s lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, said Tuesday.
Ghosn’s arrest rocked the world’s biggest auto alliance — which includes Mitsubishi Motors Corp. — at a time when the industry globally is wrestling with an array of challenges, from slowing sales in key markets such as the U.S. and China to long-term technological change requiring massive investment.
Long the glue binding the partnership together, Ghosn was chairman of all three companies, chief executive officer of Renault and head of the alliance before his arrest.
In prison, Ghosn endured frequent interrogation by prosecutors and had only limited contact with his legal team and family. The case put Japan’s justice system under scrutiny, leading to criticism of its reliance on defendants’ confessions, which often are made without a lawyer present.
Hironaka previously said the case raises questions about the fairness of Japan’s legal system, repeating a statement by the International Federation for Human Rights. He also has suggested the arrest was the result of a conspiracy inside the automaker, though he didn’t name any Nissan officials.
“Nissan does not have any role in decisions made by courts or prosecutors, and is therefore not in a position to offer a comment,” Nicholas Maxfield, a spokesman for the carmaker, said Tuesday in an email.
Nissan and Renault are reviewing their finances and the pay of top managers in the wake of the arrest and began a joint audit of the Dutch company that oversees their partnership. The probes already shone a light on some controversial practices from Ghosn’s tenure at Renault, including celebrations at the Versailles Palace outside Paris.
Thierry Bollore, who replaced Ghosn as Renault CEO in January, told Bloomberg Television in Geneva on Tuesday that, so far, the French carmaker’s probe hasn’t uncovered any governance issues beyond the “little story” of the Versailles events. He said he expects the review will be completed this month, and he declined to comment on Ghosn’s effort to win bail.
Nissan took an $83 million charge last month related to the future compensation of Ghosn as it warned of its lowest profit in six years. The company’s debt rating then was cut by S&P Global Ratings to A- from A.
Confronting a Japanese legal system with a 99 percent conviction rate, Ghosn last month replaced a defense team led by former local prosecutor Motonari Otsuru with one overseen by Hironaka, who is known for aggressive tactics defending high-profile clients such as a former senior bureaucrat accused of corruption.
