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Japanese prosecutors say they will detain Ghosn as long as needed

Nov 30 (Japan Today) - Japanese prosecutors said Thursday they will detain former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn for as long as is needed to finish their investigation into suspicions of financial irregularities, as the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance reaffirmed its partnership.

Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor for the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors' Office, defended its handling of Ghosn, who was arrested on Nov 19 along with another Nissan executive, Greg Kelly.

"We are not detaining (Ghosn) for an unnecessarily long time," Kukimoto told reporters. "We only take necessary steps as needed."

Kukimoto refused to confirm reports that both Ghosn and Kelly have denied the allegations against them. Ghosn is suspected of violating financial laws by underreporting millions of dollars in income and Kelly of collaborating in that. Nissan has also said an internal probe triggered by a whistleblower found Ghosn allegedly misused company assets.

Japanese automakers Nissan Motor Co and Mitsubishi Motors Corp have since dismissed Ghosn as their chairman. Renault SA of France has named an interim chairman but kept him on while seeking more information about his case.

Last week, prosecutors obtained a court's approval to keep Ghosn until Friday, in line with standard investigative procedures in Japan, Kukimoto said. After an initial investigation period, Japanese authorities can detain a suspect up to 20 days per charge, and gain more time by adding more charges.

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