Japan: trial of two alleged accomplices in the flight of Carlos Ghosn begins
Former Renault-Nissan president Carlos Ghosn.
(Illustration) JOSEPH EID AFP / File
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2 min
The trial of Michael Taylor, a former member of the American special forces, and his son Peter opens this Monday, June 14 in Tokyo.
They are accused of helping Carlos Ghosn, the former boss of Renault-Nissan to flee Japan and face up to three years in prison.
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With our correspondent in Tokyo
,
Frédéric Charles
With a third accomplice allegedly still on the run, the Lebanese George-Antoine Zayek, the Taylor are accused of having led, on December 29, 2019, the daring exfiltration of
Carlos Ghosn
from Japan to Lebanon.
Michael Taylor and his son Peter are charged under an article of the Japanese penal code which punishes those having made possible the escape of a "
criminal
". In the United States, their lawyers had tried, up to the Supreme Court,
to prevent their extradition to Japan
, arguing that Carlos Ghosn could not be considered
a criminal
at the time of the facts. And that they would be subjected to endless interrogations, amounting to torture.
On December 29, 2019, Michael and Peter Taylor as well as the Lebanese George-Antoine Zayek, another special operations specialist based in Beirut, had helped Carlos Ghosn to reach Lebanon on board a private plane,
hidden in a trunk for equipment. audio.
The Taylors have never denied their involvement in Carlos Ghosn's escape.
And since their arrest in Japan, they have been cooperating with the Japanese authorities.
According to prosecutors, Carlos Ghosn's son Anthony transferred at least $ 1.3 million via wire transfers and cryptocurrency to Michael Taylor's accounts for his assignment.
The discovery of the transfers by Anthony Ghosn, who lives in the United States, would greatly worry the former boss of Renault-Nissan.
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Justice
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