Two Americans accused of helping former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flee Tokyo to Lebanon under incredible conditions in December 2019 were handed over to Japanese authorities for extradition, their lawyer said on Monday. .
Michael Taylor, a former member of the US special forces converted to private security, and his son Peter Taylor were handed over to Japanese officials, said Paul Kelly, speaking of "
a sad day for the family and for all who believe that veterans deserve to be treated better by their own country
”.
Read also: Carlos Ghosn denounces the "cynicism" of Bruno Le Maire
Japan accuses Michael and Peter Taylor, as well as Lebanese George-Antoine Zayek, of helping Carlos Ghosn escape justice by fleeing the country on December 29, 2019. Peter Taylor was arrested in Boston while trying to flee the United States for Lebanon, where the former boss of Renault-Nissan took refuge and where there is no extradition treaty with Japan.
He and his father Michael then remained detained because they were considered to present a "
great risk of flight
".
The US Supreme Court lifted the last obstacle to their extradition on February 13.
To read also: Carlos and Carole Ghosn: "They attacked our family"
Concealed in a slush fund
According to US court documents, the three men allegedly helped Carlos Ghosn hide in a large slush fund, similar to a musical instrument box, which they then boarded a private jet, the control luggage was not compulsory for this type of device at the time.
A document from US prosecutors refers to "
one of the most brazen and best orchestrated leaks in recent history
."
Ghosn, who is the subject of an Interpol arrest request, remains beyond the reach of Japanese judges because Lebanon does not extradite its nationals.
Lebanese justice, however, prohibited him from leaving the country.
"
I have not fled justice, I escaped injustice
" he hammered in early January 2020 during a conference-show in Beirut in front of cameras around the world.
Arrested in November 2018 at the descent of his jet in Japan, the businessman once adored by the Japanese for the recovery of the Japanese manufacturer Nissan, had been released on bail in April 2019, after 130 days of imprisonment.
“
The Ghosn Affair
” has many ramifications in Japan and abroad.
In addition to the main trial on the Japanese archipelago, Mr. Ghosn is also concerned by several judicial inquiries in France, relating in particular to suspicions of abuse of corporate assets at Renault and the Dutch subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, RNBV.
Read also: Ghosn case: Rachida Dati withdraws from its defamation proceedings
Also, a criminal trial opened in mid-September in Tokyo to try the former Nissan legal officer, the American Greg Kelly, arrested in Japan on the same day as Mr. Ghosn in November 2018 and who, like him, claims his innocence. .
In Istanbul, three Turkish nationals - a senior official of the private aviation company MNG Jet and two pilots - were sentenced on February 24 to four years and two months in prison for their role in the exfiltration of the man from business.
Two other pilots and two flight attendants, tried at the same time, were released.
