Nissan Motors Ex Boss Carlos Ghosn Gets Bail

The former boss of Nissan Motor Corporation, Carlos Ghosn, finally got bail from a Tokyo court on Tuesday. In jail for the past three months, Ghosn faces a slew of charges including financial misconduct. But he refutes any wrongdoing and claims he was framed.

The Brazilan-born car executive with Lebanese roots got bail after submitting 1 billion yen or $8.9million as court guarantee.

Ghosn, a giant in the automobile industry is the architect of the Renault-Nissan alliance to which Mitsubishi was added in 2016.

The bail conditions include surveillance by video cameras and strict curbs on using computers in order to limit information exchange. His lawyer Junichiro Hironaka. Ghosn’s said the final release will be subject to the rejection of prosecutors' appeal against the bail. But he is expected to be released soon.

Earlier, Ghosn lost two bail petitions as the court deemed him a flight risk. The executive hired a new legal team in February led by Junichiro Hironaka who is known for fighting tough cases.

Ghosn’s arrest had shocked the auto alliance which sells one in nine cars globally and employs half a million workers.

The 64-year-old car industry faces the main charge of understating his income at Nissan and committing an extreme breach of trust.

Other charges include abuse of official position and transferring personal investment losses to the Japanese carmaker’s account. If convicted, Ghosn may spend at least 15 years in jail.

Ghosn alleges plot by Nissan staff

Ghosn blames a plot against him by Nissan executives who did not like his efforts to deepen the Japan car maker’s integration with French carmaker Renault.

Some analysts had speculated that many Nissan executives were uncomfortable about Renault and Ghosn wielding more control on the Japanese company.

In Nissan, Renault owns more than 40 percent stake while the Japanese automaker has a 15 percent stake in the French partner.

A spokesman for Nissan said the company’s internal investigation had “uncovered substantial evidence of unethical conduct,” and said more “discoveries on Ghosn's misconduct will emerge.”

Nissan is famous for its high-performance vehicles including Nissan GTR and Nissan Micra also known as Nissan March in Asia.

Family seeks UN intervention

Earlier, Ghosn’s family had decided to appeal to the United Nations to intervene in his release, according to a lawyer.

“We have decided to appeal to those UN bodies dealing with fundamental rights compliance,” said lawyer Francois Zimeray.

The family wanted to make the appeal to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention headed by the UN Human Rights Council, Zimeray added.

“Carlos Ghosn has now been held for over 100 days in Japan,” in a place “with medieval rules,” the statement alleged.