Such as – Today, a Tokyo court issued prison sentences for an American father and son accused of helping former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn escape to Lebanon pending trial in Japan.
Michael Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison, while his son Peter was sentenced to one year and eight months.
They were convicted of aiding a criminal in Ghosn’s escape in December 2019. The manager hid in a large box that was sent on a private plane to Lebanon with a layover in Turkey. Lebanon does not have an extradition agreement with Japan.
Judge Hideo Neri said both had committed a serious breach of the law because there was now no practical opportunity to prosecute Ghosn.
Although the defense said Ghosn used the defendants, the judge stated that they were clearly involved in the escape.
Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 and charged with underreporting all of his income and breach of trust for using money from Nissan Motor Co. for personal gain. He claims that he is innocent and that he left because he could not wait for a fair trial in Japan.
The Taylors were arrested in Massachusetts in May 2020 and extradited to Japan in March. During the trial, they apologized and claimed that Ghosn had misled them about Japan’s penal system.
Michael Taylor denied that he benefited financially from the operation because the $1.3 million that Ghosn paid them, according to the prosecution, only covered the expenses.
But Judge Neri claimed that the court had concluded that the motive was financial. He indicated that the Taylors could appeal.
On the other hand, Greg Kelly, a former director of Nissan, is being tried in Tokyo for falsifying reports about the compensation that Ghosn received. Kelly, who was arrested at the same time as the former auto chief, also says he is innocent.
A ruling in Kelly’s case is not expected until next year. More than 99% of criminal trials in Japan end in convictions. Kelly can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
