HIROTO SAIKAWA

Nearly three years later, former Nissan executive Greg Kelly is still wondering why the questions that led to his arrest and trial in Japan weren’t simply taken up in the automaker's corporate boardroom.

Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida has told a Japanese court that the company's former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, had held too much power, failed to listen to others, and stayed on for too long.

Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has backed American lawyer Greg Kelly's insistence he is innocent of any wrongdoing.

The lawyer for former Nissan Motor Co.'s executive Kelly, said his client was merely trying to prevent Ghosn from going to a rival automaker. At the time, Kelly, then a Nissan executive vice president, was making good money, had a successful career and moreover, was a lawyer. “He talks like a lawyer, and he thinks like a lawyer,” Kitamura said. Kelly, according to Kitamura, was just working out ways to pay Ghosn after retirement, through consulting fees and arranging a “non-compete” to prevent him from going to a rival automaker. “That would be the last day Greg would stay in Japan,” Kitamura said.

Former Nissan Chief Executive Saikawa told a Japanese court Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, he believed the compensation for his predecessor Carlos Ghosn was too low by international standards, and so he supported Ghosns retirement packages to prevent him from leaving. An American, he has been charged with financial misconduct in failing to fully disclose Ghosn’s future compensation. Ghosn led Nissan for two decades, salvaging the Japanese automaker from the brink of collapse. In the cross-examination by Kelly's defense lawyer Yoichi Kitamura, Saikawa said the several documents he signed were not about Ghosn's unpaid compensation but for services after Ghosn's retirement. When asked why he signed the documents, Saikawa said he trusted Kelly.

Nissan Motor Co. reported a 37.8 billion yen ($360 million) loss for October-December, bigger than the 26 billion yen loss racked up the previous year. But they still lag, at about a million vehicles for the quarter, down from 1.2 million vehicles a year ago. Chief Executive Makoto Uchida told reporters the annual sales forecast was lowered to about 4 million vehicles from an earlier 4.2 million vehicles. High-ranking people at Nissan, including Ghosn, were convinced his pay would come under criticism, according to testimony from several Nissan officials. AdJapanese prosecutors have argued the convoluted efforts to pay Ghosn without disclosing the full amount constitute a white-collar crime.

(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)TOKYO His boss Carlos Ghosn escaped financial misconduct charges by fleeing the country, but another former Nissan executive is still awaiting trial in Japan: Greg Kelly. Kelly's trial in Tokyo District Court is to open Sept. 15, nearly two years after his arrest, and the same day he turns 64. Jamie Wareham, Kellys lawyer in the U.S., says a compensation agreement was never finalized. Tokyo Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hiroshi Yamamoto said the preparations for Kellys trial took a long time because of the massive amounts of evidence involved. Since Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon, its unlikely Ghosn will ever face trial.

(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)TOKYO His boss Carlos Ghosn escaped financial misconduct charges by fleeing the country, but another former Nissan executive is still awaiting trial in Japan: Greg Kelly. Kelly's trial in Tokyo District Court is to open Sept. 15, nearly two years after his arrest, and the same day he turns 64 . If convicted of charges related to alleged under-reporting of Ghosn's income, Kelly could face up to a decade in prison. Jamie Wareham, Kellys lawyer in the U.S., says a compensation agreement was never finalized. Tokyo Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hiroshi Yamamoto said the preparations for Kellys trial took a long time because of the massive amounts of evidence involved.

Sign of Tokyo District Court is seen where former Nissan Motor Co.'s executive Greg Kelly arrives for a pre-trial meeting in Tokyo Thursday, July 30, 2020. Former Nissan executive Kelly, who was arrested in connection with the financial scandal of his ex-boss Carlos Ghosn, will soon face trial in a Tokyo court. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)TOKYO Former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who was arrested in connection with the financial scandal of his ex-boss Carlos Ghosn, will soon face trial in a Tokyo court. Ghosn has publicly denounced the allegations as groundless and accused Nissan officials of a conspiracy to oust him. While Kelly is asserting innocence, Nissan has acknowledged guilt, seeking to distance itself from Ghosn and Kelly.

Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co. has decided to close its manufacturing plans in the northeastern Catalonia region, resulting in the loss of some 3,000 direct jobs. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)TOKYO Nissan announced Thursday it will close two auto plants, in Spain and Indonesia, as it sank into the red for the first time in 11 years after the coronavirus pandemic sent global demand plunging and halted production. Yokohama-based Nissan had recorded a 319.1 billion yen profit the previous fiscal year through March 2019. Nissan said its global vehicle production dropped 62% in April to 150,388 vehicles from a year ago. Global vehicle sales slipped nearly 42% last month.

The French automaker announced Friday that Thierry Bollor, who had led the company since Ghosn stepped aside in November 2018, would leave his post with immediate effect. Renault said in a statement that Clotilde Delbos would serve as CEO until a permanent replacement for Bollor is found. On Thursday, as rumors of his ouster swirled, he denounced the move against him as a "coup" in an interview with French newspaper Les Echos. The departures of Bollor and Saikawa cap a tumultuous year for the alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors. Like their rivals, Renault and Nissan are facing enormous pressure from a slowing global car market and the need to find resources to develop cleaner cars.

Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa has resigned. It named Chief Operating Officer Yasuhiro Yamauchi as acting CEO while Nissan searches for a successor. Saikawa's resignation came just days after he admitted to reporters in Japan that he and other top Nissan executives were overpaid as part of a stock-related payment plan. The company's stock appreciation rights program, or SAR, was a subject of the probe, according to Nissan chairman Yasushi Kimura. A lackluster earnings reports in May -- when Saikawa said Nissan had hit "rock bottom" -- prompted questions about whether the 65-year-old executive could survive.