A request from prosecutors to extend the detention of former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn was rejected by the Tokyo District Court on Thursday.
The decision means that Ghosn, and Greg Kelly, an aide and former representative director at Nissan, could be released on bail from the detention facility they are being held at, following their lawyers' request for their release.
While the pair could be released as soon as Thursday, according to sources close to the matter, Ghosn who has been held since his arrest on Nov. 19 on allegations of financial misconduct, could find the prosecutors file an objection over his potential release or find grounds to arrest him on different charges.
It is exceptionally uncommon in Japan for an extension of a suspects' detention to be refused when requested by the special squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.
Due to allegations that Ghosn had under-reported his earnings by 4.2 billion yen (37.5 million U.S. dollars) in Nissan's securities reports for the three years through March this year, the prosecutors had been seeking an additional 10-day extension to Ghosn's detention, connected to the warrant served on the issue on Dec. 10.
During the five years through March 2015, Ghosn has also been alleged to have breached the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act by under-reporting his remuneration by 5 billion yen (44.6 million U.S. dollars) of his total 10 billion yen (89.3 million U.S. dollars) pay package.
He was subsequently dismissed by Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., triggering a leadership battle in the Nissan-Renault SA-Mitsubishi Motors Corp. automotive alliance.
However, Ghosn has admitted to the Tokyo prosecutors his remuneration which was not fully reported in the securities reports to be submitted to Japanese regulators.
He has maintained that the reports were not intentionally doctored, sources close to the investigation have said, and claims that he did not have to report some of his earnings on payments that have yet to be settled.
Ghosn, who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese citizenship, also said that one of the reasons he did not report the full amount of his earnings was that he did not want his workers to become demotivated on hearing the details of his substantial pay package.
The prosecutors, however, based on documents obtained, refuted Ghosn's claims that post-retirement payments had not yet been settled.
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