JAPAN TO SEEK EXTRADITION OF ALLEGED GHOSN AIDES FROM US

Tokyo, May 21: Japanese prosecutors said Thursday they would seek the extradition of a former special forces soldier and his son, arrested in the United States and accused of helping fugitive former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn jump bail and flee Japan.

Brazen escape act

Michael Taylor and his son Peter were detained Wednesday in Massachusetts on suspicion of involvement in what prosecutors called “one of the most brazen and well-orchestrated escape acts in recent history”.

The plot to spirit Ghosn away involved “a dizzying array of hotel meet-ups, bullet train travel, fake personas and the chartering of a private jet”, prosecutors wrote in court documents. They said Peter Taylor had been preparing to travel to Lebanon, where Ghosn fled after sneaking out of Japan last December, allegedly inside a musical instrument case. Ghosn was out on bail in Tokyo awaiting trial on multiple charges of financial misconduct — which he denies — when he fled the country.

He said after his arrival in Lebanon that he had been forced to flee because he feared he would not get a fair hearing. Ghosn’s escape proved highly embarrassing for Japan, which has sought to extradite both the former Nissan chief and his alleged accomplices. Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan, and has so far resisted requests for Ghosn’s return to Tokyo, but the US and Japan do have a treaty.

In Tokyo, prosecutors confirmed they would be asking for both Taylors to be brought to Japan. “We are making preparations so we can swiftly request their extradition,” Takahiro Saito, deputy chief of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said.

The pair was arrested after being named in a Japanese arrest warrant, and prosecutors argued for their continued detention.