Status: 07/19/2021 10:15 a.m.
At the end of 2019, the former Nissan boss Ghosn had spectacularly fled from Japan to Lebanon in a box in a private jet. Two Americans helped – they must now be detained. A third helper is still on the run.
A court in Tokyo has sentenced two American escape helpers from former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to prison terms. Former elite soldier Michael Taylor has been sentenced to two years in prison and his son Peter Taylor one year and eight months.
They had been accused of hiding Ghosn in a box declared for musical instruments in December 2019 and taking it out of the country by private jet – knowing that this would violate Ghosn’s strict bail conditions.
Ghosn is a Lebanese citizen
Ghosn was arrested and charged in Tokyo on November 19, 2018, among other things for violating stock market requirements. In April 2019, he was released from custody on bail. In addition to French, he also has Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship. Lebanon has no extradition treaty with Japan.
The Taylors were arrested in Massachusetts in May 2020 and extradited to Japan in March. They apologized during the trial and stated that Ghosn lied to them about the Japanese judicial system. Michael Taylor said he and his son did not benefit financially from their actions because the $ 1.3 million Ghosn received was just enough to cover the costs of the escape.
A third man is said to have been involved in Ghosn’s escape. He has not yet been arrested.