Americans stand trial in Japan, accused in Ghosn’s escape

TOKYO — Two Americans suspected of helping former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan while he was out on bail go on trial today in Tokyo.

Michael Taylor, a former Green Beret, and his son Peter Taylor are suspected in the Houdini-like operation where Ghosn hid in a box for music equipment that was loaded onto a private jet that flew him to Lebanon, via Turkey in December 2019.

Unlike the U.S., Lebanon has no extradition treaty with Japan. Ghosn has French, Lebanese and Brazilian citizenship.

The Taylors were arrested in Massachusetts in May last year and extradited in March on charges of helping a criminal. The authorities say Ghosn hired the Taylors for at least $1.3 million.

Ghosn led Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. for two decades before his arrest in November 2018. He was charged with falsifying securities reports in under-reporting his compensation and of breach of trust in using Nissan money for personal gain. Ghosn says he is innocent.

At Monday’s court session, the Tokyo District Prosecutors will outline the allegations against the Taylors before Presiding Judge Hideo Nirei and two other judges.

The Taylors will also likely make statements. They have been held in a Tokyo detention center since arriving in Japan and were not available for comment.

Peter Taylor said in a statement to a Massachusetts court in January that he met Ghosn in 2019 in Japan to pitch his digital marketing company to repair Ghosn’s tarnished reputation. He said Ghosn asked him to bring him gifts, food and DVDs from his wife, as well as to deliver gifts, including to family members in Lebanon.

Peter Taylor also said he left Japan for Shanghai on Dec. 29, 2019, and was not in Japan at the time of the alleged escape.