American tells Japan court he worked for Nissan's interests

Greg Kelly, an American lawyer on trial in Japan on charges related to former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s compensation, has asserted his innocence, testifying he acted legally and in Nissan's best interests

TOKYO -- An American lawyer on trial in Japan on charges related to reporting of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s compensation asserted his innocence Wednesday, testifying he acted legally and in Nissan's best interests. Greg Kelly, a former executive vice president at Nissan Motor Co., told the Tokyo District Court he was worried Ghosn might job-hop after taking a big pay cut in 2010, when Japan began requiring disclosures of high executive pay. “He became a retention risk,” Kelly said in response to questioning by his chief defense lawyer, Yoichi Kitamura. “We were fortunate to have a CEO as talented as Carlos Ghosn,” he said.