"I deny the allegations that have been made by the prosecutors. I was not involved in a criminal conspiracy," Kelly said as his long-awaited trial began, without Ghosn as a defendant and witness, almost two years after they were arrested.
Kelly, the American lawyer who was a close aide of Ghosn, said he and others, including former Nissan CEO
Ghosn, 66, who Kelly says could help prove he is innocent of charges of violating the financial instruments and exchange law, jumped bail to flee to
Wearing a gray suit and mask, the 64-year-old former representative director of Nissan called Ghosn an "extraordinary executive" who rescued the Japanese automaker from the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1990s after coming from
In the high-profile case,
Kelly is suspected of having submitted to Japanese authorities financial reports only listing about
The question revolves around whether his pay that was not yet paid should have been listed in those reports as remuneration.
The prosecutors claimed Ghosn and Kelly had "concealed the true remuneration" to avoid potential criticism from stakeholders for receiving a huge amount of pay.
They also said Ghosn instructed that Kelly and others lobby the financial watchdog to modify how corporate executives are required to disclose compensation in
The defense and Kelly denied the claim, saying that Ghosn's compensation was never agreed upon.
"Whenever (Ghosn) asked me legal questions about his compensation, I always consulted with Nissan's attorneys and outside counsel," Kelly said.
If convicted, Kelly could face up to 10 years in prison. Unlike Ghosn, Kelly does not face a charge of aggravated breach of trust for allegedly misusing Nissan funds.
Nissan itself is also a defendant in the trial and pled guilty Tuesday. Ghosn has claimed his arrest was the result of a coup staged by Nissan officials.
The court has said there will be a total of 76 public hearings until
A dozen witnesses are expected to testify throughout the trial, according to a person familiar with the matter, including two Nissan executives whose plea bargain with the prosecutors helped led to the arrests.
Among them will be Saikawa, who was forced to resign in September last year after it was later discovered he received excessive remuneration. He is expected to appear in court next year.
The Japanese government has sought Ghosn's extradition from
Without an extradition treaty between the two countries, it is unlikely Ghosn will face trial in
==Kyodo
© Kyodo News International, Inc., source