The lawyers of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who is awaiting trial in Japan, said Thursday they have requested that financial misconduct charges against him be dismissed, Asociated Press reports.
They said in a statement that they filed papers in Tokyo District Court alleging prosecutorial misconduct that would prevent Ghosn from having a fair trial. The filings say the case results from unlawful collusion between prosecutors, government officials and Nissan executives to drum up allegations.
The papers Ghosn's lawyers filed in Tokyo District Court last week allege collusion between the prosecutors, government officials and executives at Nissan Motor Co. to drum up criminal allegations in order to remove him as chairman.
They wanted to prevent Ghosn from further integrating Nissan with its French alliance partner Renault SA, according to the lawyers' statement released Thursday.
"To execute this scheme, the prosecutors illegally ceded their investigative powers to certain Nissan employees and consultants, and together with Nissan, unlawfully trampled Mr. Ghosn's legal rights in Japan and around the world," it said.
Ghosn says he is innocent. He was arrested in November 2018 and is out on bail. The prosecutors say they are confident they have a case.