Taylor family who helped Gon escape faces trial at Tokyo court
Says "No objection" to charges
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Two Americans charged with aiding the escape of former Renault-Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn from Japan, an event dubbed the "escape of the century," have pleaded guilty in a Japanese court.
On the 14th, local media reported that Michael Taylor and his son Peter Taylor, who were charged with assisting Ghosn's escape from Japan, admitted to the charges during a trial held at a Tokyo court.
According to reports, after the prosecution presented the charges during the trial, the judge asked if they had any objections to the allegations, to which both Taylors responded, "No objections."
Previously, they were indicted by Japanese prosecutors for helping Ghosn evade Japanese authorities' surveillance and escape in 2019.
At that time, Ghosn was detained and indicted on charges including tax evasion and breach of trust but was released on bail and placed under house arrest.
The Taylors arranged a chartered plane for Ghosn's escape, during which Ghosn boarded the aircraft hidden inside a sound equipment box, enabling his illegal departure from Japan.
Before the escape operation was carried out, Ghosn reportedly deposited $860,000 (approximately 1 billion KRW) into an account managed by Peter's company.
It was also confirmed that Ghosn's son paid Peter $500,000 (approximately 600 million KRW) in cryptocurrency.
They were arrested by U.S. authorities in May last year and subsequently extradited to Japan in March under the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
If all charges are upheld in court, they could face up to three years in prison.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
