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A Japanese court has granted bail to Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan who is accused of financial misconduct, after more than three months in detention.
The ex-chairman of Nissan, Mitsubishi and France’s Renault has been in custody at a detention centre in the Japanese capital since his arrest in November 2018. Ghosn is charged with under-reporting his compensation at Nissan for nearly a decade until 2018, as well as charges of aggravated breach of trust. Though Ghosn has strongly denied wrongdoing.
Related: Carlos Ghosn Denies Accusations in His First Appearance Against the Court
The surprise decision came a day after Ghosn’s newly appointed legal team, led by lawyer Junichiro Hironaka, told reporters he filed a “convincing” application for bail that contained fresh elements.
Hironaka, who has a reputation for securing acquittals for high-profile clients in a country where almost all court cases end in conviction, offered greater surveillance of Ghosn and a limit on his electronic communications to win bail.
Related: Ex Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn Faces 2 More Charges
The court has previously said Ghosn’s continued detention was justified because he posed a flight risk and might try to tamper with evidence.
Japanese prosecutors have defended his detention while they investigate three charges of financial misconduct, two involving alleged under-reporting of his salary and a third over a complex scheme in which Ghosn allegedly sought to transfer his losses to Nissan’s books.
