Ex-Nissan director Greg Kelly awaits verdict in Carlos Ghosn case in Japan after countless failed appeals for US visit

More than three years after he was arrested in Tokyo and charged with conspiring to funnel money to former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, Greg Kelly has another three months to wait before a court hands down its ruling.

The final hearing in the trial against Kelly, a former board member of one of Japan’s biggest car makers and head of human resources, took place on July 8.

With a decision in the case – where the prosecution is demanding a two-year prison term – not expected until next March, the 65-year-old will be spending another Christmas away from his family in Nashville, Tennessee.

Kelly found himself in this predicament after the Tokyo District Court turned down his fourth application to visit his family and consult his personal doctors in the US.

Family of Greg Kelly, Ghosn’s co-accused, petition for his release

As well as suffering from what he describes as “specific age-related conditions,” Kelly had planned to undergo delicate neck fusion surgery just two weeks before he was summoned to Japan by Nissan to attend a board meeting and arrested on arrival in Tokyo.

That surgery was eventually carried out in Japan, although not by the doctor with whom he had been previously planning the procedure.

“It’s disappointing,” he said.

“It has been more than three years and I want to go back to see my family again. I have never even seen my youngest grandson.”

Kelly’s lawyers have provided the court with an affidavit stating that he would surrender his passport to his counsel in the US. Kelly also insisted that he has “too much respect for his Japanese legal team” to even consider refusing to return to the East Asian nation for the court’s decision.

Kelly’s pledge came after Japanese authorities were unquestionably embarrassed in December 2019 when Ghosn was spirited out of the country concealed in musicians’ equipment on a private aircraft.

Ghosn was accused of arranging to accept about 9 billion yen (US$85 million) in deferred payments after he left the company to which he was not entitled, while Kelly was charged with helping to arrange the amount.

Both men have denied the charges. Kelly claimed that he was discussing with senior Japanese executives at the company to find a “lawful way” to pay Ghosn to retain him beyond his contract, although nothing had been finalised. No Japanese have been arrested in connection with the allegations.

The American said he still cannot comprehend how the case even came to court, adding that there was simply “no criminal conduct”.

“I just don’t understand it,” he said. “No individual was ever paid, there was no enforceable promise to pay and all the actions that were taken involved many more people than just myself.”

Yoichi Kitamura, Kelly’s lead lawyer, said he is confident his client will be acquitted “as there is no evidence of a crime or criminal activity.”

“With an acquittal, Mr Kelly will be able to go home immediately, so no special permission from the court will be required for him to do so,” Kitamura said.

He also played down suggestions that the prosecution could try to prolong Kelly’s enforced stay in Japan by appealing a not-guilty ruling.

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Under the terms of Kelly’s bail agreement, he is not permitted to be in contact with Ghosn or any of his representatives and he has made no comment on the fugitive car magnate’s public statements, even if they have a relevance to his own situation.

In an interview with This Week in Asia in September, Ghosn pointed out that Japanese prosecutors win “99.4 per cent of the cases, and he is interested not to see what the truth [is] but just to have you confess. That’s it, that’s the way it works.”

Instead of facing those odds, Ghosn said he chose to flee, but felt remorse for those who do have to go through the Japanese legal system.

“I feel bad for all the people who are victims of the Japanese hostage justice system, but the responsibility for this is mainly the country itself,” he said.

Kelly, who leads a “quiet life,” said the restrictions on his movement effectively amount to “house arrest”.

He is free to travel in Tokyo but must ask the court’s permission if he intends to spend more than a night outside the Japanese capital.

Kelly meets regularly with his legal team and, occasionally, a small group of friends. He said the case is rarely discussed in a social setting.

Kelly’s wife Dee, who has remained with him in Tokyo, said she was “disappointed but not surprised” at the decision, adding that if the judgment is in their favour, they would leave Japan immediately.

“The past three years have been difficult for our entire family and there is absolutely no reason why this should have taken so long,” she said.

“Carlos Ghosn was never promised anything and never paid anything – and our family has lost more than three years of our lives.”