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June 15, 2021

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US duo admit to helping Ghosn escape

Source: Agencies | 00:00 UTC+8 June 15, 2021 | Print Edition

A UNITED States Army Special Forces veteran and his son yesterday pleaded guilty in Tokyo to charges they illegally helped former Nissan Motor Co Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan hidden in a box aboard a private jet in December 2019.

Chief judge Hideo Nirei, one of three judges presiding over their first court appearance, asked Michael Taylor and his son Peter whether there was any mistake in the charges submitted by the Tokyo Prosecutors’ office.

“No your honor,” the older Taylor replied. “No,” said his son.

Extradited to Japan from the US in March, they are being held at the same jail in Tokyo where Ghosn was detained. They could face up to three years in prison.

Wearing black jackets and pants, white shirts and plastic slippers, they were led into court with ropes threaded through handcuffs and tied around their waists.

Prosecutors accused them of helping Ghosn evade punishment and escape to Lebanon from western Japan’s Kansai airport, receiving US$1.3 million for their services, some of which was paid to an advertising company owned by the younger Taylor. The Americans asked Ghosn for another US$500,000 for legal fees after Japan sought their arrest, prosecutors said.

They also described the younger Taylor as a frequent visitor to Lebanon, said planning for the escape began around six months before Ghosn fled.

A third man George-Antoine Zayek, recruited by the Taylors, traveled to Japan later in 2019 to find a way through airport security, settling on the private jet terminal at Kansai airport as the best route out, the prosecutors said. Zayek is at large.

The Taylors’ lawyers in the US waged a months-long battle to prevent their extradition to Japan, arguing they could not be prosecuted for helping someone “bail jump” and that they could face relentless interrogations and torture.

At the time of Ghosn’s escape, he was awaiting trial on charges that he understated his compensation in Nissan’s financial statements by 9.3 billion yen (US$85 million) over a decade and enriched himself at his employer’s expense.

Ghosn — who denies any wrongdoing — remains a fugitive in his childhood home, Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.

Greg Kelly, a former Nissan executive charged with helping Ghosn hide his earnings, is also standing trial in Tokyo.

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