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The wife of Greg Kelly, director of Nissan Motor Co., stuck in Japan with his former president, Carlos Ghosn, said that her husband was kicked in the board and was drawn to Tokyo while undergoing surgery.
Donna "Dee" Kelly, in her first public comment since her husband's arrest on November 19, presented the most virulent challenge to date of the charges against him and criticized Kelly's treatment. to the Japanese authorities.
In a video statement given to the "Wall Street Journal" by Greg Kelly's US lawyer, his wife said that he was involved in a plot of Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa, to take control of the company. the Japanese automaker Carlos Ghosn, which was filed last month after being arrested for alleged financial misconduct.
"Greg was mistakenly charged in connection with the takeover of several Nissan executives led by current CEO Saikawa," she said in the video.
A Nissan spokesman said, "The fault of this series of events is the fault committed by Ghosn and Kelly." He added: "During the international investigation of this misconduct, the Japanese prosecutor's office opened its own investigation and moved on to action."
Donna Kelly said that her husband, aged 62, was suffering from a spine problem that required immediate care and wanted the Japanese prosecutors to release him so that he could be operated on. United States before his condition causes him permanent damage.
The Tokyo Prosecutor's Office stated that Kelly enjoyed adequate treatment in detention and declined to comment further.
Ghosn and Kelly were indicted this month by the Japanese prosecutor's office for reporting a lower amount of Ghosn's charges in Nissan's financial records. A person familiar with Ghosn's legal defense stated that he was baderting his innocence.
Nissan quickly broke ties with Ghosn, exacerbating tensions with its strategic partner, Renault, which owns 43.4 percent of the Japanese automaker's capital.
Earlier this week, Saikawa rejected a request from Renault's deputy general manager. Thierry Bolloré announced that Nissan needed several months to find ways to improve its governance.
Kelly, one of the first three members of Nissan 's board of directors, was arrested after taking the plane. in Japan, where he returned in 2015 after giving up most of his operational duties within the company.
"Greg and Ghosn are convinced that they did not break the law," said Kelly's wife in the video. She said that she would have more to report in the coming days, but gave no clue. "The truth will be there," he said.
Nissan refused to make Saikawa available for comment.
Kelly is one of the few US citizens to hold leadership positions in a company headed primarily by European and Japanese leaders. He was also the first and only American to hold the position of Senior Director on the Nissan Board of Directors when he joined the company in 2012.
Known within the company as an ally of Ghosn and a behind-the-scenes problem solver, Kelly served as Chief Executive Officer and Human Resources in 2010 when the new compensation rules came into effect for executives. Prosecutors claim that later Ghosn and Kelly caused Nissan to legally exclude approximately $ 44 million from Ghosn's fees in the company's financial statements for a five-year period.
Donna Kelly stated that her husband, a lawyer, had to solve complex legal problems as part of their work and rely on internal and external sources to help them.
Prior to his arrest, Mr. Ghosn had planned to convene a meeting of the board of directors to reorganize the company's administration, including removing Saikawa as CEO and reinstating Kelly in an administrative role. , according to people familiar with the projects. attended Nissan's board meetings by phone. But according to his wife, the company's executive, Hari Nada, reportedly told Greg that it was necessary in Japan and persuaded him to attend the meeting in person, making the necessary arrangements for a company plane to take him from Nashville to Tokyo.
Donna Kelly stated that her husband was reluctant to go to the hospital for treatment and surgery in early December. He suffers from spinal stenosis, a compression of spaces in the spinal cord, which causes him to feel a damping and pain in the extremities, according to her.
Nissan did not want to comment on the facts that led to Kelly's arrest. According to his Japanese lawyer, his health deteriorated, especially because he slept in a "futon" on the floor and no special pillow, according to Donna. Kelly's American doctor said the symptoms could become permanent if he did not proceed with surgery, she said.
"We are asking prosecutors to release Greg and allow him to receive the treatment he needs," said Donna Kelly, an American. "Less than ten days from Christmas, I wish Greg were home with his family and is recovering from an operation."
Prosecutors have received court approval to detain Ghosn and Kelly without the possibility of bail until Thursday (20), and they may request an extension of this ten-day time limit. After that – provided that the prosecutors did not raise new suspicions – the defendants could ask to be released on bail, but in similar cases, the courts refused.
Japanese authorities said they would ask a doctor to examine Kelly to confirm his claims. the diagnosis and the need for surgery, said the woman's executive. Kelly has not been able to talk to the family in person or over the phone, nor to receive letters from friends and family, she said.
A spokesman for the Tokyo Detention Center declined to comment. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson, usually speaking of detainees, said that handing over family items might take some time if the inmate's condition does not put his life at risk.
Translation by Luiz Roberto Mendes Gonçalves
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