Former CEO of Nissan Kelly "Does not violate any regulations" September 11, 6:49
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The trial of the case in which former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon in the Middle East, was accused of not disclosing a huge amount of compensation, will begin in the Tokyo District Court from the 15th of this month.
Former CEO Greg Kelly, who stands in court as an accomplice, pleaded not guilty to NHK's sole interview, saying, "I have not violated any Japanese regulations."
On the other hand, he said to former Chairman Ghosn, "I wanted you to testify in court. I must continue to take responsibility for the decision to escape."
Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn (66) charged with violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act for eight years until 2017, alleging that he stated his compensation in the securities report with a little less than 9.1 billion yen. Former CEO Greg Kelly, 63, has been charged as a companion.
The first trial will be held on the 15th of this month, but former chairman Ghosn is expected to flee to Lebanon in the Middle East and proceed with the hearing in his absence.
Prior to this, former CEO Kelly pleaded not guilty in an independent interview with NHK, stating that "I have not violated any regulations regarding information disclosure in Japan."
"I wanted you to testify in court. He made the decision to think of the best way for him and his family. He must continue to take responsibility for that decision," said Ghosn's escape. I expressed my thoughts.
In this case, the prosecution postponed the receipt of a total of more than 9.1 billion yen after retiring and disclosed it in order to prevent former chairman Ghosn from revealing a large amount of compensation due to the introduction of the individual disclosure system for executive compensation. He points out that he did not, and claims that former CEO Kelly was deeply involved in the series of plans.
Regarding this, former CEO Kelly said, "The reason why Ghosn reduced his compensation was not because the French government was not happy with his compensation. At that time, he did not postpone receiving compensation. Has a number of competitors who are willing to pay far more than Nissan, and were thinking about what to do to keep them from quitting by paying them for important and valuable work after retirement. I wanted Nissan to stay, "he said.
On top of that, regarding how he feels when he comes to court, "Former Chairman Ghosn wanted to be a very good manager and protect Nissan's independence from Renault. In court, the relationship between Nissan and the former chairman I would like to talk about why it was important for Nissan to maintain it for a long time. "
The issue of the trial is
In this case, the prosecution claims that former chairman Ghosn has postponed receiving more than 9.1 billion yen out of the total compensation of about 17 billion yen for eight years after he retired in order to avoid revealing his own high compensation. is.
Officer remuneration is obliged to be disclosed when the amount is revealed even if it is not actually paid, and whether the remuneration that Ghosn postponed to receive after retirement was fixed at the trial, and former CEO Kelly The issue is whether was involved in deferring compensation or considering future payment methods.
Both claims
The prosecution will argue that it is clear that the deferred payment was decided due to the existence of multiple agreement documents signed by former chairman Ghosn.
Regarding former CEO Kelly, the policy is to consider ways to ensure payment of postponed remuneration under the direction of former chairman Ghosn, and to point out that he has signed a draft contract to pay remuneration after retirement.
On the other hand, former CEO Kelly admitted that he had signed the draft contract, and the contract is a consideration for the duties of a consultant who will be appointed after retirement, not a deferred payment of executive compensation.
The policy is to claim that the purpose was to retain former Chairman Ghosn to protect Nissan from Renault.
Furthermore, the defense will insist that even if the postponed executive compensation is not disclosed, it will not be subject to criminal penalties and will only be subject to administrative sanctions such as surcharges.
Also pay attention to the evaluation of "judicial transactions"
A major feature of this case is that the prosecution used a "judicial transaction" to obtain evidence such as statements and documents in return for not prosecuting the two former secretary generals of Nissan.
Ghosn's lawyers claimed last year before the flight that "judicial transactions are illegal for the purpose of dismissing the former chairman."
Former secretary generals who responded to the judicial transaction will appear as witnesses, and it will be interesting to see how the court evaluates the credibility of the testimony in court.
Expert "whether the reward has been confirmed or not, guilty or not guilty"
Tomoyuki Mizuno, a former criminal judge and professor at Hosei University's graduate school, said, "I think this is the first time that there is a dispute over whether the top compensation of a large company is properly stated in the securities report or whether it is a false statement. It will also be of great interest as a trial in cases where judicial transactions are applied. "
On top of that, "I think whether or not Ghosn's future payments have been fixed will make a difference between guilty and innocent. It is very difficult to decide whether the unpaid compensation was fixed at that time or just a plan. It is difficult to make a judgment by comprehensively looking at a large number of witnesses and documents. "
Regarding the impact of the judicial transaction on this trial, "All the people who responded to the judicial transaction are facing a certain direction, so just because the content of the testimony in the court is consistent does not mean that you can immediately trust it. The point is whether there is evidence to support the testimony and whether the defendant can withstand the counterargument and give a rational explanation. "
Scheduled trial
After the first trial on the 15th of this month, the trial between former CEO Kelly and Nissan as a corporation has been set for more than 70 witness cross-examinations until July next year.
According to the people concerned, Nissan's former secretary general manager, foreign managing executive officer, and former president Hiroto Saikawa, who responded to the judicial transaction with the prosecution, will appear as witnesses in the trial.
Defendant questions to former CEO Kelly are scheduled 14 times from May next year.
After the witness cross-examination and the accused question, an argument or argument is made, and then a judgment is handed down.