Former Nissan director Greg Kelly had his conviction confirmed by a panel of three judges. He was accused of helping Carlos Ghosn, the former Chairman and CEO of Nissan, hide his salary. Ghosn was arrested in November 2018 for not reporting his compensation properly, and Kelly was arrested on the same day. In March 2022, Kelly was found guilty of helping Ghosn but was cleared of most other charges and got a suspended sentence.
This situation hurt Nissan’s long-lasting partnership with Renault. Nissan’s profits dropped, leading to a loss of top leaders. Now, Nissan is discussing a merger with Honda, effectively putting Nissan under its old rival’s control. Meanwhile, Ghosn, who denies the charges, escaped from Japan in late 2019 and is now living in Lebanon.
Kelly’s lawyer said he will take the case to a higher court. His team argued that he had no reason to make Ghosn’s salary seem higher and did not participate in any plans to do so. Kelly, who used to manage human resources and legal matters at Nissan, claimed there was no agreement to pay Ghosn and that the company must disclose payments. However, the prosecutors believe that Kelly was part of a plan to hide Ghosn’s salary based on testimony from Toshiaki Onuma, who worked closely with Nissan’s executives.
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