Ex-Nissan director Kelly released on bail after more than 1 month in detention

TOKYO -- Former Nissan Motor Co. representative director Greg Kelly was released on bail of 70 million yen on Dec. 25, more than one month after his arrest in November and subsequent indictment for allegedly underreporting former chairman Carlos Ghosn's remuneration by several billion yen.

In a statement released by his lawyers, Kelly denied his involvement in the alleged underreporting, saying his innocence will be revealed in the trial. He added that he wanted to see the doctor immediately for appropriate treatment.

Earlier in the day, the Tokyo District Court decided to accept his bail request. The prosecutors filed an appeal against the decision, but it was rejected by the court.

The latest developments came after the rare move on Dec. 20 by the same court of rejecting a request from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office to extend the detention of Kelly and Ghosn beyond that date. Following the court action, Kelly's lawyer filed for his release on bail the next day. The pair's long detention period and the absence of a lawyer during questioning under Japanese criminal prosecution procedures have drawn substantial international criticism. In a video message, Kelly's wife Donna Kelly sought her husband's release for Christmas, saying he is innocent and his health is "deteriorating."

Ghosn, 64, and Kelly, 62, were arrested on Nov. 19 on suspicion of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act for not reporting some 5 billion yen of the former chairman's remuneration from fiscal 2010 through 2014. They were indicted on Dec. 10 on those charges. On the same day, the pair was served fresh arrest warrants for their alleged failure to report an additional 4 billion yen of the former chairman's pay from fiscal 2015 through 2017.

District prosecutors had requested that the court extend the two men's detention from Dec. 20 -- the deadline for the first phase of detention based on the Dec. 10 warrant.

(Mainichi)