Two Americans wanted by Japan arrested for Carlos Ghosn escape

U.S. law enforcement authorities on Wednesday arrested two American men, including a former special forces soldier,  wanted by Japan for their alleged involvement in helping former Nissan Motor boss Carlos Ghosn escape that country in December.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said that Michael Taylor, 59, and his 27-year-old son Peter Taylor, were taken into custody in that state in response to a request for purposes of extradition submitted to the U.S. by Japan.

Both men are scheduled to appear by video conference for an initial appearance Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Boston, officials said.

Michael Taylor is a former Green Beret in the U.S. Army.

Japanese officials issued arrest warrants in January for both men as well as a third, George-Antoine Zayek, in connection with the escape on Dec. 29, 2019. 

U.S. prosecutors said the government of Japan charged Michael and Peter Taylor with helping Ghosn to escape. The former chairman and CEO of Nissan “was indicted in Japan for financial crimes and had been released on bail pending his trial,” U.S. prosecutors said.

Attorneys for the men were not immediately known.  

News of the arrests was first reported by Seamus Hughes, a George Washington University professor, who discovered documents related to the busts.

Court documents detail the elaborate escape through hotel reservations, surveillance videos and travel records, among other documents.

According to the complaint, Peter Taylor visited Japan at least three times leading up to Ghosn’s escape starting in July 2019. He allegedly visited with Ghosn at least seven times during those visits, according to meeting records the former auto tycoon was required to maintain as a condition of his bail.

Peter Taylor, according to the documents, arrived in Japan and met with Ghosn a day before the escape, followed by Michael Taylor and Zayek, who both entered the country on Dec. 29 from Dubai on a private jet. The two allegedly claimed they were musicians and entered Japan transporting two large black boxes, as shown in video surveillance images.

The four men allegedly met at a Grand Hyatt hotel in Tokyo, followed by Michael Taylor and Zayek escorting Ghosn via taxi and train hours away to another Hyatt hotel near the Kansai International Airport, where the two had flown into earlier in the day.

Video surveillance, according to the documents, show the men entering a hotel room at 8:14 p.m. Michael Taylor and Zayek allegedly left the same room just before 10 p.m. with the two large boxes, one of which officials say Ghosn was hiding in, according to the documents.

Upon arriving to the airport at 10:20 p.m., the baggage passed through security and was loaded on the private jet without being checked. The plane, according to the documents, departed for Turkey at about 11:10 p.m.

Two days later, Ghosn made a public announcement that he had fled to Lebanon.