Japan court rejects ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn’s release bid

A Japanese court has rejected a bid by former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to end his detention over financial misconduct.

The court’s decision on Wednesday came a day after the former chairman of Nissan Motor Company made his first court appearance since his arrest on November 19.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the once high-flying car industry executive denied accusations of falsifying financial reports.

“Contrary to the accusations made by the prosecutors, I never received any compensation from Nissan that was not disclosed, nor did I ever enter into any binding contract with Nissan to be paid a fixed amount that was not disclosed,” he said.

Ghosn’s lawyers had appealed to the court to free the auto tycoon, claiming that there were no grounds for his detention, which has now lasted more than 50 days.

The Brazilian-born Frenchman is accused of under-reporting his income by about 5bn yen ($44m) over five years until 2015, apparently in response to criticism that he earned too much.

Since November, Ghosn has been re-arrested twice. He was kept in Tokyo’s Kosuge detention house since Japanese law states that suspects can be detained without charge for up to 23 days.

Japanese prosecutors explained that Ghosn represented a flight risk and were concerned he could tamper with evidence.

The auto tycoon’s case could have ramifications on French and Japanese diplomatic relations given that Renault holds 43 percent of Nissan, while Nissan in turn owns 15 percent of Renault.

His current detention period is set to run until Friday where he could either be freed on bail or see his detention extended.