Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn walked out of a Japanese jail for a second time late on Thursday, on $4.5 million bail after accepting to limit contact with his wife as he awaits trial on financial misconduct charges.
After a Tokyo court declined an appeal by prosecutors against his release, Ghosn left the Tokyo detention center about 10:22 p.m. (1322 GMT), dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, a Reuters witness reported.
A Toyota Alphard van whisked him past the dozens of reporters and individuals who had been waiting out of the detention center since morning for a glimpse of the former chairman after his recent three weeks in custody.
Ghosn’s second release on bail in as many months is the new turn in a financial scandal that has surprised the global automotive world and exposed tensions in the automaking partnership between Nissan and Renault SA.
The recent charge against Ghosn associates with enriching himself at a cost of $5 million to Nissan. Since his first arrest in November, Ghosn has also been charged with temporarily moving personal financial losses to his employer’s books and understating his salary during his time at the helm of Japan’s No. 2 automaker.
He has rejected all charges against him.
“I maintain my innocence and am committed to vigorously defending myself against these meritless and unsubstantiated accusations,” Ghosn stated in a statement after his release.
As a condition of Thursday’s bail, a Tokyo court stipulated that Ghosn cannot meet or otherwise talk with his wife Carole without getting permission first, according to his defense lawyer.
Carole Ghosn has been critical of the treatment she and her husband get from Japanese prosecutors when they re-arrested Ghosn at their small apartment in Tokyo previously this month on charges of aggravated breach of trust.
