Carlos Ghosn concealed the scale of his compensation at Nissan because he feared the French government would force him out of Renault if it discovered how much he earned, an executive at the Japanese carmaker told a Tokyo court on Thursday.
Hari Nada, a former Nissan vice-president in charge of legal affairs, is a key whistleblower in the case brought by Japanese prosecutors against former Nissan and Renault boss Ghosn, who was arrested in 2018.
Nada was testifying at the trial of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who is charged with helping Ghosn hide ¥9.3 billion ($89 million) in compensation over eight years through deferred payments after Japan introduced new rules requiring executives to disclose payments above ¥1 billion.