TOKYO – Japanese prosecutors charged two Americans, Michael Taylor and his son Peter, on Monday in the escape of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn to Lebanon while out on bail.
Prosecutors in Tokyo have been questioning the Taylors since they were released from the United States earlier this month. They have been held in a detention center in Tokyo since March 2.
Prosecutors said the Taylors were formally charged with aiding a criminal to escape, although dates and other details of a trial were undecided. Prosecutors sought their extradition for months after being arrested and detained in May.
Tokyo Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hiroshi Yamamoto said it was the last day that the Taylors could be detained without charge under Japanese law.
Now that they have been charged, they can be detained. A court will decide whether bail will be granted to them.
Yamamoto said prosecutors are requesting continued detention on the grounds that the two may be fleeing or hiding evidence. He did not want to elaborate on the health and other conditions of the Taylors, but said appropriate procedures were being taken.
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“We remain grateful to the U.S. authorities for their cooperation and hope to continue the trial,” he said, referring to the extradition of the Taylors.
The Taylors were not immediately available for comment, as standard in Japan’s criminal system, where more than 99 percent of those on trial are convicted.
Ghosn, which nearly two decades Nissan Motor Co. led, was arrested in November 2018 and later charged with underreporting his compensation and breach of trust.
He jumped bail and escaped to Lebanon in December 2019. Ghosn says he is innocent. Japan has placed Ghosn on Interpol’s wanted list, but Lebanon has no extradition treaty with Japan.
Yamamoto said Japan was still determined to get Ghosn right.
Michael Taylor, 60, with the help of another man, George-Antoine Zayek, hid Ghosn in a large black box that allegedly contained audio equipment, although according to prosecutors, they knew Ghosn was allowed to leave the country while awaiting trial.
The box passed through airport security in Osaka, central Japan, and was loaded onto a private plane that flew Ghosn to Turkey.
Peter Taylor, 28, is accused of meeting Ghosn and helping his father carry out the escape. Authorities say the Taylors were paid at least $ 1.3 million.
The Taylor’s lawyers in the USA fought the extradition, saying that they could be treated unfairly in Japan and subjected to ‘mental and physical torture’.
They also argued that bail jumping is not a crime under Japanese law. This is technically accurate, but most people who escape are easily caught in Japan.
Zayek is not in custody. Yamamoto declined to comment on Zayek’s location.
Japanese prosecutors say they have enough evidence to convict the Taylors.
If convicted, the Taylors will face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 300,000 yen ($ 2,900).
Separately, Greg Kelly, a former executive vice president of Nissan, is facing charges of underreporting Ghosn’s compensation. Kelly, an American, says he is innocent because he did not know of such actions.
Nissan, as a company, is also on trial. Nissan has admitted that it did something wrong.
A verdict is not expected for months.