Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn was charged with helping the escape to Lebanon, two former members of the American Special Forces were held for the first time, and the former members said, "Mistaken. "No," he admitted.
The prosecution also said, "The former member was asked by the wife of former chairman Ghosn and decided to help him escape."
Michael Taylor (60), a former member of the US special forces "Green Berets", and his son Peter Taylor (28) hid former Nissan Chairman Ghosn in a large case in December. He has been accused of concealing the criminal for helping him escape to Lebanon on a private jet.
At the first trial held at the Tokyo District Court on the 14th, the two appeared in black suits and admitted that they were both charged with saying "no doubt".
After that, the prosecution stated in the opening statement, "Michael was introduced by an acquaintance to Carroll, the wife of former chairman Ghosn, who has been arrested on suspicion of false evidence. I want you to take me out of Japan. ”The defendant decided to help the escape around July, five months before the escape."
In a trial on the 14th, the defendant's lawyer said, "One of the reasons behind the case was that former chairman Ghosn was a relative and relative of the defendants."
Details such as the prosecution's opening statement
Details such as the prosecution's opening statement read out at the first trial on the 14th.
Former Chairman Ghosn was planning to flee outside Japan around June.
At that time, an acquaintance in Lebanon introduced Michael to Carroll, the wife of the former chairman, and Carroll asked him to take him out of Japan, where his husband would be put in jail. The chairman also asked me to help him escape by calling him directly.
Around July, Michael decided to give the former chairman the convenience of taking him out of the country in hopes of a reward.
Peter, the son of Michael, who runs an Internet advertising agency, was charged with the cost of fleeing from the former chairman when he met with former chairman Gone several times in July and August at a Japanese law firm. He was asked to send money to a company run by Peter, and decided to respond, and also reported to Michael.
Status of escape preparation
Defendant Peter received a remittance of $ 540,000 on October 9 and $ 322,500 on October 25 to an account in the name of his company, including the cost of escape from former chairman Ghosn.
At the request of his father, Michael, Peter will transfer $ 400,000 from this account to an account in the name of the company that arranges private jets on October 29, and from October 16 to November 13. In the meantime, he remitted $ 103,000 to an account in the name of Michael's company and a total of $ 170,000 to an account in the name of Michael.
Around September, Michael called on George Zayek, who had been arrested as a co-conspirator who had been acquainted with him since he was in the Army, to cooperate with him, and Zayek was in charge of security inspections at Japanese airports. At Kansai Airport, we obtained information that security inspections were not conducted when leaving Japan by private jet aircraft.
Michael had a lot of discussions with the former chairman about how to escape, and by early December, he hid the former chairman in a large box at the initiative of former chairman Ghosn and put the box on a private jet. Then I decided to take the former chairman out of the country.
In late December, Michael got a large box in Lebanon to hold the acoustic equipment to hide the former chairman, such as being told the dimensions by former chairman Ghosn, so that the former chairman can breathe. I made a hole in the box with a drill.
The situation from the day before the escape to the day
Michael, along with Zayek, arranged a charter flight from Dubai to Kansai Airport on the morning of December 29, and a private jet charter flight departing from Kansai Airport to Turkey on the night of December 29.
On December 29, the day of his escape, former chairman Ghosn carried out multiple carry cases from the restricted residence in Minato Ward, where he lived at the time, and loaded them into his car.
At around 1:53 pm, the former chairman's third daughter, Maya, took the driver-driven car to the hotel in Minato-ku, Tokyo, where Peter was staying.
Defendant Peter was contacted by former Chairman Ghosn and received his luggage from Mr Maya, who arrived at the underground parking lot.
Former Chairman Gone, wearing a hat, muffler and sunglasses, walked from the restricted residence to the hotel where Peter was staying at around 2:30 pm, where he joined Michael and Zayek, and joined the Shinkansen and taxi. I went to Kansai Airport.
Around 9 pm, Michael presented a wad of 10,000 yen bills (equivalent to about $ 10,000) as a tip to employees of the facility at a facility dedicated to private jets at Kansai Airport, and a security inspection was conducted. I confirmed that there was no such thing, or asked the captain of the jet plane to be boarded to check if it could take off as planned.
Post-escape situation
Defendant Michael learned that he and Peter had been issued an arrest warrant on suspicion of concealing the criminal, and urged former chairman Ghosn to remit legal fees, etc. It has been made.
And from February to May last year, $ 500,000 worth of Bitcoin was sent from Ghosn's son Anthony's account to Peter's account.
I believed that I was being tortured
At the first trial on the 14th, the affidavits of Michael and others were also read aloud.
According to it, Michael said, "Former Chairman Ghosn was'tortured'and'fitted by Nissan' on the plane of a private jet, but he did not thank him until the end. I believed that I was tortured in Japan, but I was not tortured. The prosecutor was fair. It was different from what I had heard from the former chairman and his wife, Carroll. " It means that you are doing it.