TOKYO, Jul 3 (NNN-NHK) – Jail sentences of almost three years are being sought by Japanese prosecutors, for a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and his son, who admitted helping former Nissan Motor Co Ltd. chairman, Carlos Ghosn, flee Japan, local media and wire services reported yesterday.
According to the accounts, a Tokyo court heard from the prosecutors, they are seeking sentences of two years and 10 months for ex-special forces veteran, Michael Taylor, and two years and six months for his son, Peter.
The prosecutors’ announcement followed the father-and-son pair on Tuesday, telling the court they regretted helping Ghosn jump bail and flee Japan, where the once-revered auto-tycoon was due to face charges of alleged financial misconduct.
The duo pleaded guilty in Jun, to illegally aiding Ghosn’s escape from Japan to Lebanon, concealed in a large box, aboard a private jet, which took off from an airport in western Japan.
One of the prosecutors described the Taylors’ crime as “unprecedented” and “bold,” according to local accounts, although the prison term sought was less than the maximum three years in jail that could have been appealed for.
Describing Ghosn’s escape in Dec, 2019, as a “sophisticated and bold crime,” one of the prosecutors maintained that, Michael Taylor played “a leading role” and that his responsibility is “extremely grave.”
“The case considerably infringed upon our country’s criminal justice,” the prosecutor was also quoted as saying.
At their first hearing on Jun 14, the two Americans pleaded guilty to helping Ghosn flee Japan, while he was on bail pending his trial.
The Taylors had already admitted to the charges associated with Ghosn’s audacious escape from Japan, to avoid trial for charges of financial misconduct.
The prosecutors said, the pair were paid 1.3 million U.S. dollars, to help Ghosn escape, which involved providing Ghosn illegal passage to Lebanon, one of three countries he is a national of, by smuggling him out of his residence in Tokyo, to Kansai International Airport, via two hotels in late Dec, 2019.
The father and son team, in full knowledge that Ghosn was prohibited from leaving Japan, as part of his bail terms, hid Ghosn in a large box, which cleared Kansai airport security. Thereafter, the illicit cargo was flown to Turkey on a private jet.
At the request of Japanese prosecutors, the Taylors were arrested in Massachusetts in 2020, by U.S. authorities.
They had fought extradition to Japan in U.S. courts, but ultimately lost their battle when their appeal was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in Feb.
Once extradited, they were arrested and charged in Japan in Mar, and have since been detained at the same jail in Tokyo, where Ghosn was once held.
Ghosn, who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese nationality, is accused of under-reporting his remuneration for years and for embezzling company funds.
He denied all the charges, claiming company insiders conspired against him.
His lengthy detention in Tokyo, after being initially arrested in Nov, 2018, had been the centre of controversy in a scandal that rocked Japan and saw the international community criticise Japan’s justice system, with those close to his case likening his detention to a form of “hostage justice.”
Japan, embarrassed by Ghosn’s brazen escape, has since been trying to detain him with the help of Interpol, as Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan.
This means that Ghosn cannot be legally handed over to Japan, without Lebanon first agreeing to it.– NNN-NHK
