Two Americans were sentenced, Monday, July 19, to two years in prison for the first, one year and eight months for the second, by a court in Tokyo. They are accused of having helped Carlos Ghosn to flee Japan at the end of 2019.
Michael Taylor, 60, who received the heaviest sentence, and his son Peter Taylor, 28, were on trial since last month in Tokyo in the resounding case, having ridiculed the Japanese authorities. Both admitted the charges against them and apologized to the court, saying they regret their actions.
Carlos Ghosn had managed to flee Japan, hidden in a box of audio equipment. In early July, the prosecution requested two years and ten months in prison against Michael Taylor, a former member of the American special forces, and two and a half years for his son. Their lawyers had pleaded for suspended sentences, arguing in particular that Carlos Ghosn was the main instigator of the whole operation.
Extradition authorized by the United States
Residing permanently in Lebanon since his flight, the former boss of Nissan and Renault is beyond the reach of Japanese justice because the country does not extradite its nationals. The Taylors were arrested in the United States in May 2020, then extradited to Japan in March this year to stand trial. Another alleged accomplice, a man of Lebanese origin named George-Antoine Zayek, is still wanted.
At the end of 2019, Carlos Ghosn was on bail in Tokyo. He was banned from leaving Japan pending trial for alleged financial embezzlement when he was head of Nissan. Mr. Ghosn has always claimed his innocence on this matter.
On December 29, 2019, after traveling incognito from Tokyo to Osaka by shinkansen, the Japanese high-speed train, he hid in a large box pierced with small discreet holes to allow him to breathe. Mr. Ghosn had thus escaped controls at Kansai International Airport. Baggage checks were not compulsory at the time for passengers boarding a private jet.
In the process, the Franco-Lebanese-Brazilian had reached Beirut via Istanbul aboard private jets rented for the occasion. In February, three people were sentenced to more than four years in prison each by a court in Istanbul, Turkey, in the case: an official of a Turkish jet rental company, as well as two pilots.