UPDATE: Ghosn Granted Bail, Again

A court in Tokyo has again granted bail to former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

The court release Ghosn on bail of 500 million yen ($4.5 million) after rejecting an appeal by prosecutors to keep him in jail.

Ghosn had been released in early March on bail of 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) after 107 days in jail on initial charges of underreporting deferred compensation. He was re-arrested in early April on new charges of appropriating $5 million in Nissan funds for his personal use.

Reports indicate an unusual condition of the new bail: He must obtain court permission to speak with his wife. She is not a suspect but has been questioned by prosecutors. Ghosn describes the requirement as “cruel and unnecessary.”

The highly restricted terms of his first release also are believed to have been continued. They include video surveillance and highly restricted use of phones and computers.

Ghosn himself has been subjected to weeks of daily interrogations by prosecutors since his incarceration on Nov. 19. The sessions reportedly last for four hours and are conducted without Ghosn’s lawyer present.

Under the draconian rules of Japanese law, prosecutors can detain subjects indefinitely by periodically leveling new charges against them. Suspects who, like Ghosn, declare their innocence rarely are granted bail.

Pretrial proceedings are scheduled to begin on May 23 and could take eight months. FT says Ghosn’s trial isn’t likely to begin until 2020 and could run for at least two years.