The Carlos Ghosn drama has every chance to inspire a movie in the future – and it has just taken a new turn.
While everyone was expecting the former Nissan chief executive to be released from custody and have the chance to tell the world his side of the story, Japanese authorities have issued a fresh arrest warrant for 10 more days. This time, prosecutors motivated the request with new allegations of breach of trust.
The news comes as a big surprise given the fact that, on December 20, the Tokyo district court rejected a prosecutor’s bid to hold Ghosn for 10 more days, prompting his lawyers to prepare for filing a request for bail that would have got him out of prison while awaiting trial.
With Ghosn’s rearrest, though, lawyers will not be able to post bail and the executive is expected to remain in custody. The new charges of breach of trust allege Ghosn shifted a private investment loss of about 1.85 billion yen ($16.6 million) onto Nissan from 2008 to 2012. If found guilty, such a charge could carry a maximum prison sentence of up to 10 years.
According to prosecutors, the Japanese securities watchdog learned about the transaction at the time and questioned its legality. However, sources cited by Japan’s NHK say Ghosn has denied doing such a thing. Prosecutors also suspect the former CEO ordered a Nissan subsidiary to transfer nearly $15 million into the accounts of a person who helped out in the scheme.
This latest development in the Carlos Ghosn affair comes after he and his close aide, Greg Kelly, have spent almost a month locked up in a Tokyo detention center. Unlike in Ghosn’s case, Kelly’s lawyers have been able to make a request for bail. It the court grants it, the former Nissan director is likely to be released as early as December 21.
Kelly’s wife, Dee Kelly, sent a video (posted below) on December 19 to The Wall Street Journal, in which she claims the arrests were the result of a coup by executives, including former Ghosn protege and current Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa.