The Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday that Nissan Motor Co. and former chairman of the Japanese automaker Carlos Ghosn have agreed to pay a total of $16 million to the U.S. regulators over false financial disclosures.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Nissan and Ghosn agreed to pay, respectively, $15 million and $1 million in civil penalties to settle the charges, the commission said.

Ghosn is also barred from being an officer or director of a public company for a period of 10 years.

Former Nissan director Greg Kelly, charged with aiding and abetting the alleged violations of anti-fraud provisions in U.S. securities law, agreed to a $100,000 penalty and a five-year officer and director bar.

"Simply put, Nissan's disclosures about Ghosn's compensation were false," Steven Peikin, co-director of the commission's enforcement division, was quoted as saying in the SEC statement. "Through these disclosures, Nissan advanced Ghosn and Kelly's deceptions and misled investors, including U.S. investors."

Meanwhile, Ghosn's global defense team welcomed the settlement with the SEC, saying in a statement, "We are pleased to have resolved this matter in the U.S. with no findings or admission of wrongdoing."

"Mr. Ghosn and his defense team are now able to focus their efforts on continuing to vigorously fight the criminal case in Japan and pursue his claims against Nissan around the world," it said.

Ghosn, who led Nissan for two decades and created one of the world's largest auto alliances with Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., has been indicted on charges of underreporting his remuneration by around 9 billion yen ($83 million) over eight years through March 2018. He has denied the allegation.

Ghosn is also facing charges of aggravated breach of trust for allegedly transferring personal losses from derivatives contracts to Nissan's books by having the automaker pay a Saudi businessman who extended credit to him and having a Nissan subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates make an improper payment to a distributor in Oman, according to the indictment.

Ghosn's legal team in Japan said Tuesday that they intended to fight the charges held against him by Japanese prosecutors, as they are "certain" of Ghosn's innocence.

"We do not believe that the settlement (with the SEC) will negatively impact the trial," Junichiro Hironaka, one of his lawyers, told reporters in Tokyo. "We can now focus on the criminal trial in Japan."

Hironaka requested assurances of a fair trial, which could begin in April, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Kelly's legal team also said in a statement the SEC settlement will not affect his trial in Japan where he is charged with conspiring to underreport Ghosn's remuneration.

"The settlement will have no impact on the criminal case in Japan," said lawyer Yoichi Kitamura. "We will continue to firmly deny" the charges.

"There is no assertion (in the SEC statement) that (Kelly) is the main offender. It only mentions his aiding and abetting role," he said.

Emphasizing that the SEC claim is separate from the criminal trial in Japan, Kitamura said that the prosecution was "extremely discriminatory, unfair and clearly wrong."