By Lisa Du
Almost two months after his shock arrest in Tokyo, Carlos Ghosn remains at the mercy of the Japanese legal system, as prosecutors continue to build their case against the car industry titan.
A Tokyo court extended the detention of the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman for another 10 days on New Year’s Eve after he was re-arrested on fresh charges Dec. 21. Meanwhile, Ghosn’s former aide Greg Kelly, who was detained with the executive back in November on allegations of helping him under-report his compensation, was released on bail Dec. 25.
1. So, what’s next for Ghosn?
His current detention period will end Jan. 11. By then, prosecutors will need to announce whether they intend to indict him officially on the charges of breach of trust, which they likely will do. If he is indicted, Ghosn will be legally allowed to apply for bail. A decision will be made by the court and can be appealed by prosecutors.
There is also the possibility that Ghosn may be re-arrested on new charges, which would start the detention period anew and allow prosecutors to hold him for up to another 20 days. Ghosn has already been re-arrested twice since he was originally taken into custody Nov. 19.
2. How long is this going to go on?
There’s no clear answer to this. In Japan, the powers given to police and prosecutors to incarcerate suspects during an investigation without charging them are unique in the developed world.
While in the U.K., suspects can be held for up to 96 hours for serious crimes such as murder and up to 14 days under the Terrorism Act, Ghosn has already spent more than 40 days in the Tokyo jail. Bail isn’t possible until someone is indicted, but there’s no limit to the number of times prosecutors can re-arrest on new charges. Legal experts say this is all a strategy to secure a confession and make a trial easier.
Japanese prosecutors rarely risk a not-guilty verdict. Less than 1 percent of cases in Japan’s district and county courts in 2017 resulted in a not-guilty verdict or the defendant being released, according to prosecution data.
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