Nissan board member thought he would meet. Then he was arrested.
Last year, Greg Kelly, a Nissan board member and aide-de-camp to the company's defense spokesman, Carlos Ghosn, planned to attend the company's meeting as he usually did, via video conferencing from his home in a leafy Nashville suburb. Then he received a conversation from Japan.
Hari Nada, a close friend and senior vice president in Nissan, invited Mr. Kelly to come to the automaker's headquarters outside Tokyo. Mr. Kelly told Mr. Nada that he could not travel because he was ready to undergo surgery to treat a spinal condition, according to an account of the events of Mr. Kelly's family and lawyer. Mr. Nada assured Mr. Kelly that he would be home again at Thanksgiving well before planning the operation. Nissan would even send a corporate jet to pick him up ̵[ads1]1; a luxury Mr. Kelly had rarely received.
Not long after the jet was touched in Tokyo, Mr. Kelly was arrested, part of a carefully planned operation to bring him and Mr. Ghosn in custody because they violated the Financial Reporting Act by emphasizing Mr. Ghosns Compensation.
Japanese prosecutors say that Kelly, who was responsible for human resources on the company before becoming a board member, was the mastermind behind a scheme allowing Mr. Ghosn to illegally rule out $ 44 million in compensation, about half of his total salary, over five years from securities. Lawyers in Japan for both men have denied the charges.
A spokesman from Nissan refused to comment on how Mr. Kelly arrived in Japan but said in a written statement: "The reason for this event is the misunderstanding led by Mr. Ghosn and Mr. Kelly. During the internal investigation of this the negligence began the prosecutor's office's own investigation and took action. "(Mr. Nada could not be reached for comments.)
Mr.. Kelly, a US citizen, and Mr. Ghosn have been held in a jail in Tokyo since November 19th. Under Japanese law, the men are unable to communicate with their family or foreign lawyers. Prosecutors ask them every day.
"Greg has a long history of being an excellent and ethical lawyer," said Kellys Nashville-based lawyer Aubrey Harwell Jr.. "He and Carlos had talks about legal ways they could postpone compensation."
On Thursday, the two men took a step towards being released. A Tokyo court refused a request from the prosecutor to extend the detention of men by another 10 days, which increased the possibility that the court could also give them security and release them briefly.
His family has become increasingly desperate to get him medical attention, appealing to Japanese officials, the state department and senators from Tennessee, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander. Mr. Alexander's office said in a statement that it was working to ensure that "Mr. Kelly receives all possible help that should be available to a US citizen who has been arrested by the Japanese government."
She said that Kelly "has been unfairly accused as part of a power source of several current Nissan leaders."
Yoichi Kitamura, a lawyer for Mr. Kelly in Japan, said that a local doctor had investigated Mr. Kelly and conducted a MRI scan, in consultation with his American physician. Later this week, the Japanese doctors will submit a request to the court asking for Mr. Kelly to be released for medical treatment in the United States or Japan.
Representatives from the United States Embassy in Tokyo have visited Mr. Kelly. But a government department official refused to comment on its case.
Herr. Kelly cut a controversial figure in Nissan, where he had worked out from an assistant council in 1988 to become the first American in the board in 2012, according to several current and former leaders who spoke because of anonymity due to the continued legal case in Japan. He was seen as a conspiracy to Mr. Ghosn, whispering behind the prominent CEO with an outsize person. Mr. Ghosn, like hell an auto empire that included Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault, rose to fame and became a party at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Mr. Kelly was often in the background and gave legal advice.
Two years ago, Kelly Nissan returned to the United States, but remained on the board. Mr. Ghosn, who is preparing to withdraw from his duties at Nissan, had planned to put Mr. Kelly in top management, according to two people who were informed of Mr. Ghosn's thinking.
Before Mr. Kelly returned to the United States, he was a senior vice president who oversees human resources and was directly involved in executive compensation. All senior employees employed by Nissan went through Mr. Kelly's office.
Officials did not cross Mr. Kelly, said a former leader because they knew he had the power to shoot people and put wages and bonuses.
Unlike Mr. Ghosn, who for years managed the complex cultural and political dynamics of running an anchored Japanese company, Kelly was often regarded as advocates of American and European interests. A former European colleague said that at the board's meetings Kelly did not speak much and that he could be cold and not sure feeling.
Another former Nissan official said that Mr. Kelly once tried him and asked if he was aligned with the Western or Japanese leaders in the company and became acquainted with his own loyalty.
Now Kelly and his family are dependent on the Japanese for their medical release. "With Christmas less than 10 days away, Christmas service would be that Greg should be home with the family and get back from his operation," said Mrs Kelly in the video.
Asked if he was optimistic that Japanese prosecutors would release Mr. Kelly in time to get his surgery, his lawyer, Mr. Harwell, released a guttural, southern laugh. "Optimistic?" He said.
