Former green beret and son arrested in Boston over ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan
Two Americans have been arrested for their alleged role in the daring escape of ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn from Japan while he awaited trial for financial wrongdoing.
Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts said former Green Beret Peter Taylor, 59, and his son, Michael Taylor, 26, helped smuggle Mr Ghosn in a musical audio equipment case to his childhood home of Lebanon.
More details of the daring escape in a large black box aboard a private jet were first revealed in court documents posted to Twitter by Seamus Hughes, from the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
In January, Japan submitted requests for the arrests of both Mr Taylor and his son plus a third American suspect, George-Antoine Zayek, over allegedly helping Mr Ghosn flee the country on 29 December while awaiting trial for charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds.
The court documents claimed the former special forces soldier met Mr Ghosn at least seven times during three trips to Japan in the months before the operation.
Morning. Here’s a scoop of a story for you. The Feds this morning arrested Michael and Peter Taylor for their role in smuggling out former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn from Japan. pic.twitter.com/YplL85SSAr
— Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes)
The day before the escape, Mr Taylor’s son and Mr Zayek allegedly arrived in Japan carrying “large black boxes”.
“The black boxes looked like they were for audio equipment, and Michael Taylor and Zayek told Kansai airport workers that they were musicians,” the court documents said.
“Ghosn was hiding in one of the two large black boxes being carried by Michael Taylor and Zayek.”
They were said to have loaded their luggage onto the private jet at Kansai International Airport without a security check, before flying to Lebanon via Istanbul.
Prosecutors in Turkey have also reportedly prepared an indictment charging seven people that allegedly facilitated the escape via Istanbul, including four pilots and two flight attendants.
The Justice Department obtained warrants on 6 May and US marshals reportedly arrested the father and son pair on Wednesday after learning the senior Mr Taylor had booked a flight from Boston to Beirut.
“Peter Taylor would be likely to flee if he learned of the existence of a warrant for his arrest,” the court documents said.
They are expected to appear before a federal judge in Massachusetts on Wednesday afternoon, and Japan has said it would submit a formal request for extradition.
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