Tokyo court sentenced to jail a US veteran and his son for helping former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flee Japan to avoid prosecution for alleged financial crimes, Forbes reports.
After being extradited from the US to face trial in Japan, former US Army Special Forces operative Michael Taylor will spend two years in jail for his role in Ghosn’s escape while his son Peter will spend 20 months behind bars.
Japanese prosecutors, who had been seeking prison terms of two years and 10 months for Michael Taylor and two years and six months for Peter, believe that the Taylors received $1.3 million for their role in Ghosn’s escape and an additional $500,000 for legal fees.
Chief Judge Hideo Nirei said during their sentencing on Monday that Taylors- who pleaded guilty and apologized for aiding the fugitive auto executive- had helped Ghosn, who is accused of serious crimes, to escape overseas in “one of the most brazen and well-orchestrated escape acts in recent history.”
He also noted that the prospects of former Nissan CEO facing a trial remains bleak.
The two Americans smuggled the Nissan executive out of the country in late 2019 on a private plane to Turkey by hiding him in a box designed to hold music equipment after he passed through security in Osaka without being detected.
After that, Ghosn, who’s denying any wrongdoing, returned to his native home of Lebanon, which does not have an extradition treaty with Japan.
Remaining a wanted man in Japan, Ghosn faces charges of falsifying securities reports, hiding his income, enriching himself through payments to dealerships in other countries and a breach of trust and if found guilty, he could spend up to 20 years behind bars.
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