Carlos Ghosn could soon be freed on bail after a Japanese court Thursday made an unexpected move in throwing out a bid by prosecutors to extend his detention.
The 64-year-old Franco-Brazilian-Lebanese executive has languished in a detention center in Tokyo since his November 19 arrest for alleged financial misconduct sent shockwaves through the business world.
But in another stunning twist in the case, the Tokyo District Court said prosecutors had filed a bid to extend his detention on December 20, but it was "rejected".
In the Japanese system, it is extremely rare for the court to turn down prosecutors' request to continue the detention of someone who denies the allegations as Ghosn does, and the decision wrong-footed everyone, AFP reported.
The move paved the way for a potential release on bail as early as Friday, according to public broadcaster NHK.
However, there are still many legal battles to be fought and Ghosn's release is by no means certain with prosecutors already lodging an appeal against the court decision.
Deputy chief prosecutor Shin Kukimoto declined to comment on the particular case, telling reporters only "we will handle this appropriately."
Prosecutors formally charged Ghosn on December 10 with financial misconduct for allegedly under-declaring his income by some five billion yen ($44 million) between 2010 and 2015.
At the same time, they re-arrested him on suspicion of also under-reporting his income by a further four billion yen over the past three years. He has not formally been charged over this allegation.
In addition to charges against Ghosn and his right-hand man Greg Kelly, prosecutors had also indicted Nissan itself, as the company submitted the official documents that under-reported the income.
Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors promptly sacked the tycoon as chairman but Renault kept him on and appointed an interim boss as it waited to assess the legal procedures against him. It also said Ghosn's compensation had been in compliance with law and governance guidelines.
Documents seen by Reuters showed that executives at both Nissan and Renault were involved in discussions about compensating Ghosn out of the public eye.
