Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in November after Nissan told prosecutors its own internal investigation uncovered evidence of serious wrongdoing by him. The Japanese automaker subsequently ousted Ghosn as chairman.

He faces criminal charges in Japan over failing to report around US$82 million (RM334 million) in salary from Nissan, and for temporarily transferring personal financial losses onto Nissan’s books during the global financial crisis.

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.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ghosn’s lawyers also asked he stand trial separately from Kelly, who was charged with conspiring to under-report Ghosn’s income. Both Ghosn and Kelly have denied the charges.

The lawyers’ statement did not say why Ghosn did not want to be tried alongside Kelly. Lawyers for both Ghosn and Kelly were not immediately available for comment.