Two Americans suspected of helping to organize the flight to Lebanon of former auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn have been indicted by Japanese prosecutors.
The two men, a father and son, are accused of orchestrating the Hollywood movie-worthy escape of former Renault Nissan Mitsubishi boss from Japan to Lebanon via Lebanon in December 2019, allowing him to escape to a certain conviction for wrongdoing, at a time when it is rare for a person accused in Japan to get away with it because of an extremely high conviction rate.
In a statement, Japanese prosecutors said that “the special investigative unit has asked the Tokyo Magistrate’s Court for a trial to take place for the two defendants,” Michael Taylor and his son Peter.
According to the Japanese accusations, Michael Taylor, a former member of the American special forces who converted to private security, and his son Peter helped organize “one of the most brazen and best orchestrated leaks in recent history”. If their guilt is confirmed, they risk up to 3 years in prison while 3 people of Turkish nationality were sentenced for their role in the case to 4 years in prison.
The two men were arrested in May 2020 by the American justice system under a Japanese arrest warrant. They then remained detained in the United States as they were considered to present a “great risk of flight”. They were subsequently extradited to Japan where they are being held at the Kosuge detention center in Tokyo, the same where Carlos Ghosn was held.
The former auto mogul managed to bypass very strict bail conditions as he was Japan’s most wanted man at the time. On December 31, 2019, the world discovered that he had succeeded in setting sail for Lebanon, a country of which he holds the nationality and which does not have a judicial extradition agreement with Japan.
Carlos Ghosn, managed to escape controls at Kansai International Airport, near Osaka. He hid in a box of audio equipment and took a private jet to Istanbul first, before arriving in Lebanon. The former Renault boss explained that if he had stayed in Japan, he would be sentenced to 99% criticizing an “unfair” system.
