![Americans accused of aiding former Nissan executive’s escape extradited to Japan](https://www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/11/Carlos-Ghosn.jpg)
Two American men accused of helping disgraced former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn escape Japan in 2019 were extradited from the US on Monday, the Tokyo Prosecutor’s Office confirmed in a press conference. Michael Taylor and his son Peter were arrested at Narita International Airport by marshals of the Tokyo District Prosecutor’s Office and charged on suspicion of illegally harboring Ghosn. The Taylors had been imprisoned in a Boston jail since 2019.
The elder Taylor is a US Special Forces veteran with a lengthy career in private security consulting, which includes past leadership of American International Security Corporation, a private military contractor. Among other security consulting, Taylor developed a reputation for utilizing his Green Beret expertise to rescue people from complex situations worldwide. He revealed in a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair magazine that he had charged up to $2 million for such missions in the Middle East and South America.
The Taylors were covertly hired by Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan, who was facing charges of underreporting millions in earnings and using shell companies to secretly fund his international lifestyle. Following a period of house arrest in Japan, the Taylors helped smuggle Ghosn out of Japan on a private flight to Lebanon, in part by stowing him in a box that evaded security screening. Ghosn is currently still a fugitive in Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.
The US Supreme Court denied a stay of the Taylors’ extradition in February. The Taylors had argued that their effort in helping a Japanese national jump bail is not a crime in Japan that could satisfy an extradition request under Japan’s extradition treaty with the US. Furthermore, the Taylors voiced concerns that they were likely to face poor treatment in Japan that could amount to torture. By denying the emergency application for a stay, Justice Stephen Breyer allowed the extradition to proceed.
Now in Japanese custody, the Taylors will be expected to face trial on charges related to their smuggling of Ghosn in a Japanese court.