A former Green Beret and his son who are wanted by Japan on charges that they smuggled former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn out of the country in a box have been arrested by the US Marshals Service in Massachusetts.
Private security specialist Michael Taylor, 59, and his son Peter Taylor, 27, are wanted by Japan on charges they helped Ghosn – who was awaiting trial on financial misconduct charges - escape the country in December after he was released on bail.
Authorities said the daring escape began on December 28, 2019 when Peter arrived in Japan and met with Ghosn at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo. At 10am the next day, Michael flew into Osaka, on a chartered Bombardier Global Express jet from Dubai with George-Antoine Zayek. They were carrying two large black boxes and told airport employees they were musicians carrying audio equipment. Michael and Zayek rented a separate room near the airport and then joined the group before they all left and split up. Peter headed to the airport to catch a flight to China while the others got on a bullet train and arrived at the Shin-Osaka train station where they caught a taxi and went back to the hotel that Michael and Zayek had booked earlier. They all went in but only two would be seen walking out.
Authorities say Ghosn was inside one of the big black boxes which was lugged by the two men to Japan's Kansai International Airport. The boxes passed through security without being checked and were loaded onto a private jet which took off for Turkey, then to Lebanon, where Ghosn has citizenship but which has no extradition treaty with Japan. Days later, he announced publicly he was in Lebanon.
Ghosn said he fled because he did not expect a fair trial and was subjected to unfair conditions in detention. He maintains he is innocent of allegations he underreported his future income and committed a breach of trust by diverting Nissan money for his personal gain.
He had been in charge of Nissan for almost two decades and masterminded the alliance with France’s Renault and Japan’s Mitsubishi that produced one of the world’s largest carmakers.
