The Daily Manila Shimbun

 

Ghosn Arrest on New Charges Draws Controversy Even in Japan

December 11, 2018



Tokyo--The serving of a fresh arrest warrant on former Nissan Motor Co. <7201> Chairman Carlos Ghosn by the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District

Public Prosecutors Office on Monday provoked controversy even in Japan.

Prominent journalist Shoko Egawa, familiar with issues related to Japan's criminal justice system, argued that the prosecutors apparently wanted to "buy time" by serving the new warrant on Ghosn on charges of failing to disclose part of his executive compensation between fiscal 2015 and 2017.

Last month, Ghosn, along with his aide, former Nissan representative director Greg Kelly, was arrested for allegedly underreporting his pay between fiscal 2010 and 2014. They were indicted on these charges on Monday.

On Tuesday, Tokyo District Court approved an extension of the detention of Ghosn, 64, and Kelly, 62, until Dec. 20.

"Prosecutors could have integrated (the additional charges) with the earlier charges for a single indictment," Egawa said. "The separation of the charges seemed nothing but a method to buy time."

"In an extreme case, they could serve a suspect with an arrest warrant many times by simply dividing charges," she said.

Egawa warned against interrogations to make Ghosn admit charges against him, suggesting that his prolonged detention could become a problem.

Meanwhile, prosecutor-turned-lawyer Yasuyuki Takai said it was not illegal to serve two arrest warrants on the disgraced businessman for the alleged financial misconduct in the first five years and the latter three.

"For instance, it's possible to serve an arrest warrant on a suspect three times in each 10 of 30 theft cases," the lawyer said.

Takai said that the investigation of the Ghosn case may have to take longer than similar cases involving Japanese-speaking suspects, due to the need to translate his statements.

However, he claimed that it was desirable to charge Ghosn with the financial irregularities in the eight years together, considering Nissan's cooperation with the investigation, including under plea bargaining, as well as the risk of a prolonged detention of Ghosn affecting Japan-France relations.

The French government is the largest shareholder of Renault SA, which, unlike its Japanese partners, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. <7211>, has not sacked Ghosn as its chairman and chief executive officer.

"Trust in criminal justice, in a way, is equal to trust in the country," Takai said. "Repeatedly serving an arrest warrant on a suspect over the same misconduct in different periods is unlikely to be understood abroad." Jiji Press