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Ex-Nissan director Greg Kelly leaves Japan days after conviction

Kelly was found guilty of assisting Carlos Ghosn underreport compensation

Greg Kelly, former representative director of Nissan Motor Co, was found guilty of helping Carlos Ghosn underreport his compensation, with a Tokyo court giving him a six-month suspended sentence in a decision that draws a line under one of the most shocking corporate sagas of the past decade. Photograph: Zhang Xiaoyu/Xinhua/Bloomberg

Mon Mar 7 2022 - 13:59

Former Nissan director Greg Kelly left Japan on Monday, days after receiving a suspended sentence for helping Carlos Ghosn underreport compensation, and more than three years since being arrested in one of the most dramatic corporate takedowns of the past decade.

Mr Kelly (65) and his wife Dee flew to the US from Tokyo's Haneda airport, where they were seen off by Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan. Mr Kelly was last Thursday found guilty by a panel of three judges at the Tokyo District Court of aiding Mr Ghosn in 2017, but was cleared of charges of involvement for prior years.

The 17 months of proceedings essentially served as a proxy trial against Mr Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan and its carmaking alliance partner, Renault SA. The two auto executives were arrested in Tokyo on the same day in November 2018 and charged with various financial misconduct offences.

Mr Kelly’s lawyers are appealing the ruling, even though the verdict is a rare partial victory in a country where prosecutors win virtually all court cases.

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Mr Kelly was left alone to defend himself after Mr Ghosn staged a spectacular escape from Japan at the end of 2019, making his way by private jet to Lebanon, where he now resides. Mr Kelly, who formerly oversaw human resources and legal affairs at Nissan, argued that there wasn't an agreement to pay Mr Ghosn, as well as no requirement to disclose any such compensation and that his former boss was never paid. – Bloomberg

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