One year from “Gone Shock” Where is the trial going? November 20, 19:48

A year has passed since Gone Shock, when Nissan's former president Carlos Ghosn was arrested. The prosecution and defense team will move to court in the future, and the first trial will be held as early as next April. Former President Ghosn, who is also known as the “car giant” and who wanted the charisma's fame, was a dictator who personalized the company and frustrated him, or aimed at preventing integration with Renault Is it a victim of a conspiracy set up by Nissan? Based on the detailed claims of both the prosecution and defense team, which has been clarified so far, the former prosecutor and the former judge are thoroughly covered. Read the world-famous trial where you will find it faster and deeper than anywhere else. (Social department reporter Tsunetaka Tanaka, Kiyomizuna)

I talked to a criminal pro

This time, we interviewed two professionals with extensive experience in criminal cases.

One is former lawyer Yasuyuki Takai. Former prosecutor of the Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office, responsible for investigating recruitment cases. As a member of the government review committee, I was involved in the system design for judges.

The other is a former judge and Professor Tomoyuki Mizuno of Hosei University Law School. He has been a criminal judge for 15 years. In 2010, he was the first chief judge of the Judge Trial as the chief judge of the Chiba District Court.

About the case in which former president Ghosn was prosecuted

Defendant Carlos Ghosn, former president of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (65), was arrested four times since November 19, last year, specially including illegally spending crimes and Nissan's funds that stated a small amount of remuneration in the securities report You have been charged with offenses.

In March, however, after being released on bail, the case was arrested for another charge the following month, and the case was unusual, and the detention was held for a total of 130 days.

Prosecution and defense team “details of claims” already revealed

The court, prosecutor, and defense team are currently conducting a “pre-trial arrangement procedure” to sort out the issues before the trial once a month, and the first trial is expected to be held in April next year at the earliest. .

In a private procedure, the prosecution will show in writing what the prosecution intends to prove in the trial and gradually disclose the evidence on hand to the defense. The defense will also ask the public prosecutor to disclose the evidence necessary for the objection, and will indicate in writing what is to be claimed in court. The court listens to both sides to narrow down the issues and schedule the hearing.

On the 24th of last month, the defense team held a press conference and published a written statement of the alleged claims made in the procedure.

The prosecution has not released the document to be verified, but NHK has grasped the details through interviews with related parties and has already reported on NHK News WEB.

Prosecutors and defense teams may change or add claims in the future. Guilty and innocence are judged not only by both sides, but also by evidence and testimony in court, but the issue is becoming clearer in a private procedure.

How do experts see whereabouts of the trial? We analyzed each point based on the claims of both sides.

Point 1 The illegality of the investigation

The first question they asked was whether the defense team stressed the most, whether the investigation was illegal. The defense team is seeking not only a claim of innocence but also a dismissal of prosecution = “censorship of the trial” because the procedures such as collecting evidence are illegal.

The prosecution uses the “judicial transaction” that was just introduced in Japan last year, and in return for prosecuting two of the former secretary-general managers at Nissan, gained evidence such as statements and documents from them, Prosecuted.

The defense team criticizes this “judicial transaction” as “In fact, as a corporation, Nissan is prosecuted and dealt with. It is illegal to dismiss the former chairman”. Furthermore, regarding the procedures for collecting evidence overseas, “Nissan employees and lawyers had previously consulted with Japanese prosecutors and took their computers, etc. without permission from overseas homes or offices. "It is an illegal investigation using"

Mr. Takai, a former prosecutor, said, “The standard for“ dismissal of prosecution ”is a case where the prosecution itself can be said to be a crime, and the Supreme Court has never acknowledged it. I think that they are insisting on “dismissal of prosecution after knowing that there is almost no”.

On top of that, “The defense team still appealed the illegality of the investigation, changing the social atmosphere and public opinion that“ Gon is guilty ”, and the judges should carefully examine the credibility of evidence and statements. Is there a purpose to appeal to? "

Ms. Mizuno, a former judge, also said that the hurdles that allow "dismissal of prosecution" are quite high, and that "if you are guilty in nature, if the procedure for collecting evidence is illegal, you cannot use the evidence and are not guilty. It is possible. "

“Evidence is lost when there is an unacceptably significant illegality in the collection process, and the defense team has given some evidence that the prosecution has guided the collection of illegal evidence overseas. , You need to be specific. "

Point 2 The crime of underdescription of remuneration is

Next, I heard the points for each case that was prosecuted.

Former Chairman Ghosn is accused of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act because he stated that the total of the total remuneration included in the annual securities report for 8 years until FY2017 was less than 9.1 billion yen.

In order to avoid criticism of high remuneration in the “individual disclosure system” for officer remuneration introduced in fiscal 2010, the prosecutor did not include a portion of the remuneration that was confirmed by the former president in the report. Claims to receive after retirement as "reward". It is also pointed out that a document with “unpaid remuneration” has been prepared and signed by the former chairman.

On the other hand, the defense team recorded “reduced compensation” instead of “unpaid compensation”, and it serves as a reference for setting the conditions when the former chairman makes any contract with Nissan after retirement. I insist.

Mr. Takai, a former prosecutor, points out that “how much compensation the top executive receives in an era where compliance is important is an investor's judgment. The prosecution ’s claims are straightforward.”

On that basis, “It can be said that“ unpaid remuneration ”has been decided as a company, how the memo (document) with the amount written is created, and what it means. The point is that it can be said that it has the same value as that determined by the company. "

On the other hand, Ms. Mizuno, a former judge, said, “While not listing unpaid remuneration is a statement prohibited by the Gold and Commercial Code, it is a matter of court evaluation rather than prosecution proof. I think there is a possibility of being innocent in the theory. "

Point 3 The crime of reimbursement of foreign exchange transaction loss

Former Chairman Ghosn has been charged with special responsibility for replacing the right of private exchange trading with an unrealized loss of over 1.8 billion yen in Nissan in the Lehman shock of 2008.

The defense team said, “We transferred the parties to the transaction contract to Nissan under conditions that would not incur a burden on Nissan. The status of the parties was returned to the former chairman after about four months, and there was no loss to Nissan. It has not occurred ".

Former Mizuno, a former judge, said, “Even though it is temporary, it is not normal to impose personal loss on the company, and it can be said that it has been incurred. "There are also cases where a special responsibility was granted when the company was charged with non-performing non-performing loans."

On top of that, Mizuno said the defense team said, “At that time, the former chairman had to pay for his retirement allowance unless his rights were transferred to Nissan. If the former chairman retired during the financial crisis, Nissan could not recover. The main point of the replacement is not for the company but for the benefit of one's own interests. ".

On the other hand, Mr. Takai, a former prosecutor, said, “I think the prosecution has made a kind of wager because of the courageous prosecution. The right to exchange transactions transferred to Nissan certainly includes valuation loss, but it is a financial product. Unrealized losses may be tomorrow's unrealized gains, but the prosecutor will argue that “the valuation loss will occur when Nissan reassigns its rights, so the position will be established,” but ultimately the court will evaluate "

Point 4 The crime of fraudulent spending on Saudi businessmen

The next question was from former Chairman Ghosn, who received a 1.28 billion yen from Nissan's funds from 2009 to 2012 to a Saudi businessman's company that cooperated in the credit guarantee of a foreign exchange transaction with a loss of over 1.8 billion yen. It is about the crime of a special supervisor who allegedly mispaid the yen.

Prosecutors allege that the former president Ghosn has been fraudulently spending Nissan funds in return for the businessmen who helped to close the losses.

On the other hand, the defense team argues that spending was legitimate as Nissan gained a great deal of business in Saudi Arabia through the cooperation of this businessman.

Mr. Takai, a former prosecutor, said, “If it is recognized that it is legitimate spending as the defense team claims, even if the replacement of the unrealized loss to Nissan is guilty, the spending to the businessman will be a special responsibility. “The key is that the defense team can show evidence that there was a good business reason for spending.”

Ms. Mizuno, a former judge, said, “I don't know without looking at specific evidence, but it is possible that it will be paid as a name for sales promotion, etc.” It was difficult for Japanese judges to judge the standards in Saudi Arabia. "

Point 5 The crime of recirculating spending on Oman sales agents

Lastly, the former chairman Ghosn returned to Lebanon's paper company, which he actually owns, part of the funds that Nissan spent on sales in Oman over the last two years. It is a special offense for allegedly causing damage.

The defense team's policy is to insist that the payment to the agency was a sales incentive and that Nissan was a reasonable business strategy to maintain and expand market share in the Middle East. On the other hand, although it claims that there is no “return fact” regarding the return to the paper company, no specific objection is shown.

Mr. Takai, a former prosecutor, said, “It is important for the prosecutor to verify whether or not the return can be verified. Even if the payment to the agent is reasonable, it is assumed that the return was added and paid. "

“In order to prove the return, it is necessary to link the money paid by Nissan to the agency and the money flowing to the former chairman. To that end, the timing of the remittance and the business situation of the former chairman's company must be elaborated. It is necessary to prove to ".

On the other hand, Mr. Mizuno, a former judge, said that the defense team did not give a concrete objection to the return, “I think that the burden of proof is on the prosecution, and it is not a good idea to say the details at this point. The prosecution ’s disclosure is not yet over, so the defense will look at the evidence and consider how far the prosecution ’s claims can be crushed. "Said.

Summary

A criminal trial in Japan that is said to be guilty of more than 99% if prosecuted. However, from the interview this time, we can see the actual situation of prosecution and defense of defense teams that do not allow such prejudice.


Former President Ghosn's trial is said to have attracted the most international attention in history as a trial held in Japan. We will continue to keep an eye on that whereabouts.

Social Department reporter Tsunetaka Tanaka

Social Department reporter Kiyomizuna