Carlos Ghosn: American father and son sentenced to jail in Japan for helping former Nissan chief flee

A Tokyo court on Monday sentenced to prison the American father and son charged with helping former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn escape to Lebanon while on bail in Japan.

Michael Taylor, a 60-year-old former Green Beret, received a two-year sentence, and his 28-year-old son Peter one year and eight months.

Mr Ghosn caused a global sensation in 2019 when he escaped Japan in a large musical equipment case to Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.

The executive, once a leading figure in the automotive industry, had been arrested in Japan in November 2018 on charges of financial misconduct as the head of Nissan Motor Co. Mr Ghosn, who remains in Lebanon, maintains his innocence and says he fled because he would not get a fair hearing in Japan.

The Taylors were extradited from the US in March to face accusations that they aided Mr Ghosn’s escape in return for a £950,000 payment.

In December 2019, Mr Ghosn had left his home in Tokyo, where he was under house arrest, and taken a bullet train to Osaka. At a hotel there he met the Taylors, who posing as musicians smuggled Mr Ghosn onto a private jet at Kansai airport inside a box supposedly holding audio equipment.

Both men pleaded guilty and professed regret for their actions, saying they had acted out of altruism after Mr Ghosn told them that people were tortured in Japan’s criminal justice system, which has a conviction rate of over 99 per cent.

Their lawyer Keiji Isaji had sought a rapid trial, as court proceedings in Japan can often drag on for years.

During the sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Hideo Nirei said the pair committed a serious violation of the law in enabling Mr Ghosn to permanently avoid justice.

"This case enabled Ghosn, a defendant of a serious crime, to escape overseas," he said.

Although the defence argued the two had been misled and used by Mr Ghosn, Judge Nirei said they were clearly involved, irrespective of who made the decisions.

The judge said the Taylors were motivated by financial gain, despite a tearful Michael Taylor claiming he was penniless and that money he had received only covered expenses.

The maximum penalty for aiding a criminal in Japan is three years imprisonment. Prosecutors had sought two years and 10 months for Michael and two years and six months for his son.

Their defence had argued for suspended sentences for both men, who spent 10 months in custody in the United States after being arrested in Massachusetts in May 2020.

But Judge Nirei said he would not take time served in the United States into account. "There is a limit to how much we can consider," he said.

The pair now have two weeks to appeal their sentence.

Another man accused of helping the escape, George-Antoine Zayek, has not been arrested.

In a separate case a former top Nissan executive is also on trial in Tokyo charged with falsifying reports on Mr Ghosn’s remuneration. Greg Kelly, who faces up to 15 years in prison, also maintains his innocence.

He was arrested at the same time as Mr Ghosn and his trial began in September. A verdict is not expected until next year.

Asked about the fate of his former colleague and the men who helped him, Mr Ghosn told the BBC: "I feel sorry for all the people who are victim of the hostage justice system in Japan, all of them."