Boston (United States) (AFP)

The United States arrested on Wednesday at the request of Japan, a father and his son suspected of helping former car magnate Carlos Ghosn to flee Japanese justice by concealing it in a case of a musical instrument.

Michael Taylor, 59, a former member of the United States special forces converted to private security, and Peter Taylor, 27, were arrested in the early hours of Harvard, Massachusetts, the United States Department of Justice.

They must appear by videoconference at 7:30 p.m. GMT before a Boston federal judge.

Prosecutors say they pose a "great risk of absconding" and must remain in custody pending Japan's formal request for extradition.

Peter Taylor was arrested as he was about to leave for Lebanon, where the former boss of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors alliance took refuge, and who has no extradition treaty with Japan, they said.

The two men, as well as the Lebanese George-Antoine Zayek, are accused by Tokyo of having helped Carlos Ghosn to escape Japanese justice during a spectacular escape on the evening of December 29.

Affected by complaints of financial embezzlement, the big boss was on bail, with a ban on leaving Japan, when he left for Lebanon, of which he is a national.

In a press conference from Beirut, he then assured that he had had "no other choice" than to flee accusations "without foundation".

Asked several times about the conditions of his escape, Mr. Ghosn refused to give details, but American court documents specify the outline of the shipment.

- Musicians -

Peter Taylor visited Japan three times in the months before the operation and met with Ghosn seven times, according to these documents.

On December 28, he took a hotel room at the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo, where Carlos Ghosn joined him. The two men chatted for an hour, according to the establishment's surveillance cameras.

The next day, Michael Taylor and George-Antoine Zayek arrived at Kansai Airport, near Osaka in western Japan, on a private jet from Dubai. They carried large black boxes similar to musical instrument cases and told airport workers that they were musicians.

After dropping these boxes at an airport hotel, they traveled to Tokyo by train. While traveling, Carlos Ghosn returned to the Grand Hyatt, where he went directly to Peter Taylor's room to change his clothes. The four men then found themselves in this hotel.

Peter Taylor left alone to fly to China. The other three returned to the Kansai Airport hotel where the caissons had stayed. On the cameras, only Michael Taylor and George-Antoine Zayek will leave with the heavy boxes.

"There is no image of Carlos Ghosn leaving the room. In fact, he was hidden in the crates" that the two men were carrying, according to court documents.

At the airport, they were able to load their luggage without subjecting them to security checks, as was then the rule for private jets. They then flew to Turkey, then to Lebanon.

The Japanese justice system issued arrest warrants against Carlos Ghosn and his three alleged accomplices on January 30.

Peter Taylor returned to Boston on March 22 and Japan has asked the United States to arrest him under the extradition treaty between the two countries.

© 2020 AFP