An American father and son were extradited from the United States to Japan on Monday for their alleged involvement in the escape of Carlos Ghosn, the former CEO of Japanese car maker Nissan, in late 2019.
Former Special Forces member Michelle Taylor and his son Peter Taylor tried in vain to prevent their extradition to the Supreme Court at the last minute. The two men from Massachusetts fear they will not receive a fair trial in Japan. They think Japan only wants to prosecute them because the Asian country feels so embarrassed that Ghosn fled.
The former Nissan CEO had to appear in court in Japan on suspicion of involvement in fraud and financial mismanagement. At the end of 2019, he managed to flee the country in Hollywood style while on bail.
Japan accuses the father and son of helping Ghosn escape via Kansai Airport in the so-called flight case. These boxes are usually used to transport musical instruments and stage parts during concert tours. The men would have received $ 1.3 million (more than a million euros) for the escape.
An American denies the involvement of his son
Michael Taylor never denied the allegations, but insisted that his son had nothing to do with the escape and was not in Japan at the time of the flight. In the past, Taylor ran his own security company, and parents hired him to find kidnapped children. Last year he referred to an interview Vanity Fair In which he described Ghosn’s escape in detail.
In October, the US State Department had already decided that Taylor could be extradited. However, they tried to stop this in court.
Ghosn has lived in Lebanon since he fled. The CEO asserts that his prosecution is politically motivated.
