Ex-Nissan exec Kelly appeals sentence over Ghosn’s pay

Pool photo via Reuters
Greg Kelly, a former executive of Nissan Motor Co., walks in to the Tokyo District Court in Tokyo on Thursday.

Lawyers for former Nissan Motor Co. executive Greg Kelly, who has been given a suspended sentence over the automaker’s then Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s pay, appealed the ruling at the Tokyo High Court on Friday.

On the previous day, the Tokyo District Court sentenced former Nissan Representative Director Kelly, 65, to six months in prison, suspended for three years, in a case where he was charged with a violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law by underreporting Ghosn’s executive remuneration in financial reports. Prosecutors had sought a two-year prison sentence for Kelly.

On the other hand, Nissan, which was ordered by the district court to pay a fine of ¥200 million in line with the prosecutors’ demand, announced Friday that it will not appeal the lower court’s ruling.

Nissan said in a statement, “The company deeply regrets that it could not prevent such misconduct” by Ghosn, 67, and others.