Ghosn to plead not guilty on all charges in pay scandal

Oct 23, 2019 | News On Japan

Oct 23, 2019 (Nikkei) - Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn is preparing to plead not guilty to all charges in the pay scandal that led to his ouster from the Japanese automaker.

Ghosn's defense team alleges that a plea deal between Tokyo prosecutors and two Nissan executives was illegal, saying it was part of a plot to drive Ghosn out of Nissan and violated the spirit of the law, according to sources.

His defense team has submitted a document to the Tokyo District Court denying any wrongdoing. Ghosn's lawyers will outline their arguments at a pretrial meeting with prosecutors Thursday.

Ghosn, who was arrested in Japan in November 2018, continues to await trial, expected to begin as early as next spring.

His defense denied that Nissan underreported deferred compensation for Ghosn by around 9.1 billion yen ($83.8 million), saying this compensation never existed and that no one at the company was aware of it.

The defense team also said a transfer of money from a Nissan unit to Ghosn's acquaintances in Saudi Arabia and Oman was conducted appropriately and did not hurt the automaker.

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