TOKYO -- Lawyers for Carlos Ghosn asked a Tokyo court on Tuesday to try the ex-Nissan Motor Co boss separately from his former employer, arguing he would otherwise not get a fair hearing to fight charges of financial wrongdoing.
The request marks the first major legal maneuver by Ghosn's new legal team, which took over his case in February and is headed by a high-profile defense lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, widely known as "the razor" for his courtroom prowess.
Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in November after Nissan told prosecutors its own internal investigation uncovered evidence of wrongdoing. The Japanese automaker subsequently removed Ghosn as chairman.
Along with Ghosn and Greg Kelly, a close Ghosn associate who served as a director on Nissan's board, prosecutors have also indicted the company itself for making false disclosures in annual securities reports, for which it has expressed regret.
"No matter how you look at it, having Ghosn sit alongside Nissan at the trial would be peculiar, it would go against his right to a fair trial," Hironaka told a briefing.
Hironaka also told the briefing that his team wanted Ghosn's case separated from that of Kelly's because Kelly is a potential key witness for the Ghosn defense.
Ghosn faces criminal charges in Japan over failing to report around $82 million in salary from Nissan, and for temporarily transferring personal financial losses onto Nissan's books during the global financial crisis.
Both Ghosn and Kelly have denied the wrongdoing.
