Nissan employee testifies against American on trial in Japan

TOKYO (AP) — A Nissan employee testified Tuesday that he worked with another former Nissan executive, American Greg Kelly to find ways to pay the automaker's former chairman, Carlos Ghosn without fully disclosing his compensation.

Toshiaki Ohnuma, a star witnesses for the prosecution, described to the Tokyo District Court his job in human resources at Nissan Motor Co., where he said he handled executive compensation matters, including working with Kelly on finding ways to pay Ghosn without disclosing it.

Disclosing annual executive pay over 100 million yen (about $1 million) became a requirement in Japan from 2010. Ghosn had been getting about 10 times that. Japanese executives who get giant paychecks are rare, and Nissan was leery of public criticism over the issue.

After 2014, Kelly handed over his duties dealing with pay to another Nissan executive, Hari Nada, Ohnuma said. Nada also is scheduled to be a witness for the prosecution.

“There was decided paid compensation for Mr. Ghosn but also unpaid compensation,” a gray-suited Ohnuma, wearing a mask for the pandemic, told the court solemnly.

He referred to Ghosn as “Ghosn-san,” adding the Japanese honorific.

“We worked together to consider how to avoid disclosure of the unpaid compensation,” Ohnuma said of his work with Kelly.

Kelly, a former Nissan executive vice president, is the only person to stand trial in what prosecutors have portrayed as a systematic plot to under-report Ghosn’s compensation.

He has been charged with under-reporting Ghosn’s compensation by 9.3 billion yen ($88 million) over several years.

Ohnuma said he has worked at Nissan since 1982. He was the company's general manager from 2007 through March 2019.

Ghosn was arrested and charged with Kelly in November 2018. Ghosn jumped...