Ex-Nissan chief Ghosn wins bail in Japan
TOKYO: Former auto industry titan Carlos Ghosn moved a step closer to freedom yesterday as a Tokyo court unexpectedly granted him bail after more than three months in a detention cell.
It was the latest twist in a case that has kept Japan and the business world gripped since the tycoon’s shock arrest on Nov 19 over suspicions of financial misconduct.
The court set bail at one billion yen (US$9 million), but prosecutors appealed the decision and could even file additional allegations against the 64-year-old to keep him from leaving detention.
Under his bail terms, Ghosn is banned from leaving Japan and must adhere to conditions aimed at preventing him from fleeing or destroying evidence.
The shock decision came a day after Ghosn’s new lead defence lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, told reporters he had filed a ‘convincing’ application for bail that contained fresh elements.
Hironaka, who has a reputation for securing acquittals for highprofile clients in a country where almost all court cases end in conviction, offered greater surveillance of Ghosn and a limit on his electronic communications.
The court has previously said Ghosn’s continued detention was justified because he posed a flight risk and could seek to tamper with evidence. It had already rejected two official bail bids and other attempts to win freedom.
However, his prolonged stay behind bars has come under fire internationally and from rights groups.
Speaking to AFP and French daily Les Echos in January – his only interview with foreign media so far – Ghosn himself said that his continued detention ‘would not be normal in any other democracy’.
“Why am I being punished before being found guilty?” Ghosn asked.
The former head of Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors and Renault faces three charges – two involving alleged under-reporting of his salary and a third over a complex scheme in which Ghosn allegedly sought to transfer his losses to Nissan’s books.
Further claims of financial misconduct have been levelled against him and prosecutors may yet slap him with additional allegations to keep him in detention.
Under Japanese law, prosecutors can hold a suspect for up to 22 days while they investigate an allegation, and then can apply for repeated one-month stretches of pre-trial detention for each charge eventually levelled.
That means prosecutors could effectively prevent Ghosn from leaving detention despite today’s bail decision if they level new allegations against him, starting the 22-day detention clock.
Ghosn has denied all the allegations against him. — AFP