US duo in court for aiding ex Nissan boss

TOKYO: A US Army Special Forces veteran and his son pleaded guilty in Tokyo yesterday to charges that they illegally helped former Nissan Motor Company chairperson Carlos Ghosn flee Japan hidden in a box aboard a private jet in 2019.

Extradited to Japan from the US in March, Michael Taylor and his son Peter are being held at the same jail in Tokyo where Ghosn was detained. They face up to three years in prison.

Prosecutors accused them of helping Ghosn escape to Lebanon from Kansai airport, in return for $1.3 million. At the time he was awaiting trial on charges that he understated his compensation in Nissan’s financial statements by 9.3 billion yen over a decade.

Ghosn – who denies any wrongdoing – remains a fugitive in his childhood home.