INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesIn a surprise move, a court in Japan has rejected a request to extend the detention of Nissan's former chairman
Carlos Ghosn, paving the way for his release.Mr Ghosn has been charged with financial misconduct - accused of under-reporting his pay
package over a five-year period.He was arrested in Tokyo in November after the allegations first surfaced
His detention could have been extended on separate charges until 30 December.However, in a shock decision the Tokyo District Court said on
Thursday it had heard the prosecutors' request to keep Mr Ghosn in detention, and had rejected it
The move means he may be released as early as Friday
The court also rejected an extension to the detention of Greg Kelly, an aide to Mr Ghosn.Mr Ghosn, a towering figure in the auto industry,
has previously denied the accusations made against him
His defence team has said they are invalid because they do not relate to his salary, but to future payments that he was expected to receive
after retirement.Japanese prosecutors have also charged Nissan in relation to the case, which has continued to send shockwaves through the
If Mr Ghosn is convicted, the charges could mean up to 10 years in prison
Surveillance Commission.Mr Ghosn's detention has also put into doubt the future of the Alliance - a global carmaking group that includes
Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.Nissan and Mitsubishi both sacked Mr Ghosn as chairman after his arrest last month
But Renault has held off doing so, choosing instead to appoint a temporary deputy chief executive to take over the running of the
firm.Image copyrightGetty ImagesHis hero status was so big that his life was serialised in one of Japan's famous cartoon comic booksThe
Brazilian-born boss of Lebanese descent and a French citizen says his background left him with a feeling of being different, which helped
him adapt to new culturesIn France he was known as Le Cost Killer, a comment on the deep cuts he made to revive RenaultHe was once tipped as
a potential president of Lebanon, a move he eventually dismissed because he already had "too many jobs"In a 2011 poll of people the Japanese
would like to run their country Mr Ghosn came seventh, in front of Barack Obama (ninth)
