Carlos Ghosn's lawyers on Thursday presented their defense against the charges against the former boss of Renault and Nissan, accusing prosecutors of "illegal acts" and demanding the cancellation of prosecutions, according to a statement. According to them, the elements they present to the judges "fundamentally question the probity and objectivity of the prosecutors' file".
"Request for a declaration of invalidity"
During a preliminary hearing on Thursday, "they have decided to plead the application for a nullity of the entire proceedings against their client", can be read in the same document. The defense team (composed of many lawyers in Japan, France and the United States) takes up the arguments already put forward by Carlos Ghosn, considering that their client is victim of "illegal maneuvers of prosecutors started before his arrest and which are continuing still today".
Carlos Ghosn was arrested on 19 November 2018 upon his arrival in the Japanese capital. He spent a total of 130 days in pre-trial detention. Released on bail in the spring, he is currently under house arrest in Tokyo where he has been preparing his defense since May with his lawyers. He is under four counts of indictment.
"Collusion"
According to the lawyers, existed from the beginning "collusion with leaders of Nissan and officials of the Meti (Ministry of Industry of Japan, ed) to remove the Alliance and to thwart the project of reinforced integration between Nissan and Renault ". He added that "prosecutions by prosecutors, which were politically motivated from the beginning, are fundamentally biased". They conclude that "this case should never have given rise to criminal prosecution".