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The American father and son accused of planning Carlos Ghosn’s orchestrated plans to escape Japan via bullet trains, private jets and music equipment boxes have pleaded guilty in Tokyo court.
Michael Taylor, 60 years old Front green beretHe and his 28-year-old son Peter were extradited to Japan this year after being arrested in Boston in 2020. They will face up to three years in prison.
On Monday, the two were handcuffed and appeared before a panel of three judges at the Tokyo District Court. The prosecutor read a statement detailing the conspiracy to extract the former Nissan chair from a large house in central Tokyo to Lebanon after the transfer in Turkey.
escape, Which involved moving Ghosn between hotels in Tokyo and Osaka, then hiding him in a specially modified crate and claiming it was concert equipment, involved a plan for several months.
This includes finding out which airports in Japan have security vulnerabilities that can be exploited at critical moments when crates are transferred to private jets without checking their crewed contents.
Ghosn stays in Lebanon and Claim His bold escape was an attempt to “escape injustice” and he was facing Multiple charges Financial misconduct. Ghosn denied the allegations.
When the chief judge asked the prosecutor if there were any errors in his statement about helping Ghosn to escape, Michael Taylor, wearing a mask, dark suit and white shirt, said, “No, Your Honor.” His son was also similar. Answer “No” to the question.
Ahead of Taylor Extradition from the U.S., Their lawyers argued that they were innocent, claiming that because “jumping security” is not technically a crime in Japan, it is impossible to assist someone in doing so.
On Monday, the two did not dispute the allegations made by the prosecutor. But their lawyers tried to downplay Peter’s role in the conspiracy, saying that his participation was “just an accessory of Michael”, even though the father and son were given equal responsibilities in the indictment.
According to the prosecutor’s opening statement, Ghosn had been planning to flee Japan from around June 2019 and asked Michael to initially plan the plan through his wife. Carol.
Four months later, Ghosn paid US$862,500 via wire transfer to a company managed by Peter to pay for the private jet after the two secretly met in Tokyo.It is said that the plan was finally implemented with the help of the following people George Zayek, A private security contractor and Lebanese national, are also wanted by the Japanese authorities.
The first day of the trial revealed how Ghosn easily circumvented what his wife called Japan’s “punitive and inhumane” bail conditions, because the former chairman often used the phone contract established by his sister to communicate with Taylor through the messaging app Signal. The couple communicated and, according to the prosecutor, he held a secret meeting in the lawyer’s office in Tokyo.
After the Japanese authorities issued an arrest warrant against the Taylor family after escaping, the prosecutor said that Michael demanded payment of attorney fees, and Ghosn transferred approximately $500,000 worth of bitcoin to Peter’s account through his son’s account. At the end of the meeting on Monday, Peter reportedly admitted that helping Ghosn was the worst thing he had ever done in his life.
Ghosn’s former deputy Greg Kelly is also on trial in Tokyo. Battle accusation He helped the former chairman of Nissan conceal his true salary level.
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