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The father-son team that smuggled Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in a major musical equipment affair have been sentenced to jail for their role in helping The former Nissan Motor Co. chairman fled the lawsuit in 2019.
Michael Taylor, 60, father and former American Green Beret, was sentenced Monday to two years in prison by the three-judge panel in a hearing that lasted about 20 minutes. Her 28-year-old son Peter Taylor was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Both pleaded guilty last month to charges of assisting Ghosn’s escape from Beirut, a development that was just as shocking as the November 2018 arrest of the auto director for alleged financial crimes. With Ghosn out of reach – Lebanon does not extradite its citizens – the couple have become proxies for Ghosn and his case. The same goes for Greg Kelly, a former Nissan manager who was arrested on the same day as his boss and faces trial in Japan. Ghosn and Kelly have denied allegations of underestimating the car executive’s pay.
The fall of Carlos Ghosn at Nissan and the consequences: QuickTake
Michael Taylor, center, at Istanbul Airport in December 2019.
After spending more than a year in Japan and being released on bail, Ghosn traveled to Osaka Airport on December 29, 2019 by high-speed train. From there, he was transported in a private jet that flew to Istanbul, where he changed planes and flew to Beirut.
“This case allowed Ghosn, accused of a serious crime, to escape abroad,” Chief Justice Hideo Nirei said. Noting that Ghosn has no plans to return to Japan, he added: “A year and a half has passed, but there is no chance that the trial will take place.”
The Taylor’s actions signify “the ability to go after the truth has been blocked,” Prosecutor Ryozo Kitajima argued on July 2. , Peter’s role was also important, he said. Attorneys recommended a sentence of more than two years for each.
Trains, planes and daring: the 5,400 mile escape from Ghosn to Beirut
Defense attorneys for the Taylors, who were detained for about 10 months in the United States prior to their extradition, have asked for a suspended sentence. Ghosn was the one behind the scenes and did all of the main planning, Keiji Isaji, an attorney for the Taylors, said in a previous hearing.
The Taylors have been involved in legal battles since helping Ghosn escape. After battling extradition charges, the couple were brought to Japan in March. The two men were held in solitary confinement in a detention center while attending their trial in Tokyo District Court.
The crime of harboring or allowing the escape of a criminal carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison in Japan.
The duo apologized to prosecutors and the Japanese justice system at a hearing in late June. Helping Ghosn escape was a mistake, they both said. Michael Taylor has never denied his involvement in Ghosn’s escape, speaking in court about how he organized and carried out the brazen operation. Peter’s role is less clear.
The money used to pay for Ghosn’s escape was transferred through Peter’s company and he had met the former auto executive on several occasions in the months leading up to until, and the day of the escape, according to prosecutors. But Peter testified in court last month that he did not know the details of when or how Ghosn planned to escape, and only learned of the former president’s leak through after-the-fact reports.
(Updates with the duration of the hearing.)
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