Members of media crews are seen on step ladders in front of the Tokyo Detention Center, where Nissan's arrested chairman Carlos Ghosn and a former Nissan executive Greg Kelly are being held, in Tokyo, Japan December 25, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - Former Nissan Motor Co Representative Director Greg Kelly was set to be released after more than a month in detention after a Tokyo court late on Tuesday rejected prosecutors’ request to hold the American executive.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that Kelly be freed, while Carlos Ghosn, the automaker’s ousted chairman, remains in custody. Kelly paid 70 million yen ($640,000) bail in cash, the court said.

Kelly was detained along with his former boss on suspicion of understating Ghosn’s income in financial statements for several years. Neither Kelly nor Ghosn have been able to defend themselves in public, so Kelly’s release could give him the first opportunity to do so.