Japan Prosecutor Appeals Conviction of Former Nissan Executive

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese Public Prosecutor's Office filed an appeal on Wednesday against the judgment of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who was recently acquitted of most of the charges he faced because of alleged problems in the declaration of the salary of his former boss Carlos Ghosn.

Earlier this month, the Tokyo District Court sentenced him to a six-month prison term suspended for three years. The court found that Kelly, who is American, was guilty of hiding the remuneration of the former president of the automobile company only one of the eight years cited in the indictment.

The defense has already appealed and is asking for Kelly's full acquittal.

The Prosecutor's Office has said that it examined whether there were grounds to appeal for the years of which he had been acquitted. He was asking for a prison sentence of two years.

The case will now go to the Tokyo High Court, which will examine the eight years of the indictment before the two parties' appeal.

In Japan, those who receive a suspended sentence have no obligation to stay in the country. Earlier this week, Kelly was received in Tennessee by Senator Bill Hagerty, who supported her case from the start.

Kelly worked for Nissan for three decades and was almost retired in the United States when he was summoned to attend a meeting in Japan in November 2018. He was arrested at the same time as Ghosn, the former president of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.

Kelly's trial began in September 2020. Ghosn was not part of the trial since in 2019 he violated his parole and fled to Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.

Yokohama-based Nissan Motor Co., which manufactures March subcompact, Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models, pleaded guilty in the same trial, was fined and will not be part of the appeal.

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Kageyama is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama