An American father and son have now openly admitted that they provided help to the former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in order for him to escape from Japan in 2019.
Former US Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor, 60, and his son Peter, 28, were flown to the US over claims that they had heled Mr Ghosn escape from Japan in a luggage box on a private jet while he was on probation and still being investigated.
What Happened?
At a hearing in Tokyo, the two said they did not dispute the facts laid out by prosecutors in the criminal complaint.
They face up to three years in prison.
Mr Taylor and his son responded “no, no” when the judge asked if there was anything wrong with the claims made by the public prosecutor in the Tokyo office on Monday, Reuters reported.
Prosecutors charged the two men with arranging Mr. Ghosn’s flight to Lebanon and from West, Japan (Kansai Airport in December 2019 and received $1.3 million in service fees).
Why Is Mr. Carlos On The Run?
The former Nissan CEO is an international fugitive who ran away and is living in his vhildhood home in Lebanon and thr country does not have an extradition agreement with Japan.
Mr Ghosn was released on bail, awaiting trial, in four cases for financial irregularities, which he denies, and now he managed to slip past the authorities in a case and onto a private jet, the court heard.
U.S. prosecutors called his escape “one of the most brutal and well-organized escapes from operations in recent history.””
Hostage
Private Security Specialist Mr. Taylor and his son were fighting a long battle to avoid extradition in the case but alas, the U.S. Supreme Court sent them to Japanese authorities in late March.
The Tokyo Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on the extradition and detention in court.
After arriving in Lebanon, Mr. Ghosn said that he was “being held hostage” in Japan, where, in his opinion, everyday was a choice between death or escape.
A Turkish court convicted an executive of Turkish jet company MNG and two pilots over their role in flying him out of Japan.
Mr. Ghosn was first arrested on financial misconduct charges in November 2018 for allegedly reporting poorly on his organization, for each of the five years up to and including 2015.
