A university professor specializing in corporate law appears as a witness in the trial of former CEO Greg Kelly, who is accused of understated the compensation of former chairman Carlos Ghosn of Nissan Motor in the securities report. Even if the unpaid remuneration is not listed in, it is not a lie and is not subject to criminal penalties.
Former Nissan Motor CEO Greg Kelly, 64, was accused of colluding with former chairman Ghosn and disclosing less of the former chairman's compensation, and the prosecution revealed that the former chairman had his own high compensation. In order to avoid becoming a crime, he claims that he did not list more than 9.1 billion yen of the compensation in the securities report and postponed the receipt after he retired.
At the trial on the 22nd, Professor Wataru Tanaka of the University of Tokyo, who specializes in corporate law, appeared as a witness on the defense side.
Professor Tanaka said, "If investors read Nissan's securities report obediently, I think that the compensation for directors and corporate auditors will be the amount already paid."
He also stated that even if the former chairman had unpaid remuneration and this was not stated, it would not be a false statement and would not be subject to criminal penalties.