A Japanese court is to hand down a ruling in the trial of former Nissan Motor executive Greg Kelly next March. Kelly is charged with underreporting remuneration of ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn.

The last of more than 60 hearings on the case was held on Wednesday. The trial opened in September last year.

Kelly and Nissan Motor are charged with violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act by conspiring to underreport Ghosn's compensation in the carmaker's securities reports.

Prosecutors have demanded a two-year prison term for Kelly and a fine of 200 million yen, or about 1.76 million dollars, for Nissan.

In closing statements, Kelly said he is not guilty of any crime. He added that Ghosn was a very capable businessperson and that he made sure all efforts to retain Ghosn at Nissan were legal.

Kelly's lawyer said there was no unpaid remuneration other than what was reported, and that Kelly did not conspire with Ghosn or other Nissan executives.

Nissan's attorney pleaded guilty to the charges.

The lawyer said the company is gravely aware that there is much to reflect on its governance at the time.

But the lawyer said Nissan's acts were unrelated to the pursuit of its corporate interest and were done in Ghosn's private interest.

Source: テレ東BIZ