Court rejects former Nissan chairman Ghosn’s appeal against extended detention
A Tokyo court has rejected a complaint filed by former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn relating to his extended detention in Japan.
Ghosn, who has been in jail since his arrest on suspicion of misconduct on 19 November, filed the complaint earlier today.
But the Tokyo District Court swiftly rejected the appeal, according to local media reports.
The former Nissan chairman was formally charged and re-arrested yesterday along with the company's former representative director Greg Kelly on charges of underreporting Ghosn’s salary by tens of millions of pounds since 2010.
The additional arrest and charges mean the pair are likely to remain in jail until the end of the year.
Kelly’s lawyer, Yoichi Kitamura, said he was certain his client’s innocence would become clear in court.
“The reason I’m confident is because there was no violation of the financial instruments and exchange law,” he said, according to local media.
The rejection is a major blow to Ghosn, who was ousted by Nissan shortly after his arrest last month.
The maximum penalty for breaking Japanese financial laws is 10 years' imprisonment with labour, a fine of up to ¥10m (£70,000), or both.
Ghosn and Kelly face a difficult legal battle in Japan, which has a 99 per cent conviction rate. Prosecutors have said they consider the pair to be flight risks.
Nissan was also indicted yesterday for filing false financial statements. In a statement the company said it takes the situation “extremely seriously”.
"Making false disclosures in annual securities reports greatly harms the integrity of Nissan's public disclosures in the securities markets, and the company expresses its deepest regret," the car manufacturer added.