TOKYO: Lawyers for former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn said on Tuesday they asked a Tokyo court that he stand trial for alleged financial wrongdoing separately from Nissan because the company is helping prosecutors.
Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in November after Nissan told prosecutors its own internal investigation uncovered evidence of serious wrongdoing by him. The Japanese automaker subsequently ousted Ghosn as chairman.
He faces criminal charges in Japan over failing to report around $82 million in salary from Nissan, and for temporarily transferring personal financial losses onto Nissan’s books during the global financial crisis.
Along with Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a close Ghosn associate who served as a director on Nissan’s board, prosecutors have also indicted the company itself for making false disclosures in annual securities reports, for which it has expressed regret.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ghosn’s lawyers also asked that he stand trial separately from Kelly, who was charged with conspiring to under-report Ghosn’s income. Both Ghosn and Kelly have denied the charges.
The lawyers’ statement did not say why Ghosn did not want to be tried alongside Kelly. Ghosn’s lawyers were not immediately available for further comment. Kelly’s lawyer was also not immediately available for comment.
Ghosn lawyers ask for separate trial in Nissan case
Ghosn lawyers ask for separate trial in Nissan case
- Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in November after an Nissan investigation uncovered evidence of serious wrongdoing by him
- Ghosn faces criminal charges in Japan over failing to report around $82 million in salary from Nissan
Free trade negotiations between GCC, India mark new phase of partnership, says sec-gen
RIYADH: The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general affirmed that the negotiations for a free trade agreement between the GCC and India, and the signing of the joint statement, represents a new phase of strategic partnership.
Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi said that this contributes to enhancing close cooperation and strengthening economic and trade ties, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
This came during the signing ceremony of the joint statement on launching the free trade agreement negotiations between the Al-Budaiwi and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, which took place in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
During the signing ceremony, Al-Budaiwi said that the Terms of Reference, signed on Feb. 5, provide a comprehensive and clear framework for these negotiations. The two nations agreed to discuss enhancing cooperation in vital strategic areas, including trade in goods, customs procedures, and services.
Additionally, the framework covers Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, cooperation on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, along with other topics of mutual interest. This reflects the comprehensive nature of the agreement and its ability to keep pace with the future economy.
Al-Budaiwi expressed hope that these negotiations would lead to a comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement that works to remove customs and non-customs barriers, enhance the flow of quality investments in both directions, and achieve further liberalization in trade and investment cooperation between the GCC and India for mutual benefit.
This would provide a stimulating economic environment and an investment climate that opens broad horizons for the business sector, supports supply chains, and accelerates the pace of economic growth in line with the ambitious developmental visions of the GCC states.
The top official affirmed the full readiness of the General Secretariat to host the first round of negotiations at its headquarters in Riyadh during the second half of this year.
The two sides held a meeting during which they reviewed the existing cooperation relations between the GCC and India and discussed ways to develop and elevate them to broader horizons, serving mutual interests and enhancing opportunities for strategic partnership between the two sides, particularly in the economic, investment, and trade fields.
They praised the role undertaken by the negotiating teams from both sides, appreciating the efforts contributing to reaching a comprehensive agreement that enhances economic integration and supports the smooth flow of trade between the two nations.
