US extradites two alleged Carlos Ghosn accomplices to Japan

Two Americans suspected of helping former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn skip bail in Japan and flee to Lebanon in December 2019 have been extradited from the US and arrived in Tokyo.

Michael Taylor and his son, Peter, who had been detained in a Boston jail since last May, were handed over to Japanese custody on Monday.

The pair, along with a third man still at large, are believed to have masterminded the operation that saw former international jet-setter Ghosn packed into an audio-equipment case and onto a private jet to jump bail in December 2019.

Tokyo Deputy Prosecutor Hiroshi Yamamoto said the Taylors arrived at Tokyo's Narita International Airport, and were arrested on suspicion of aiding a criminal.

They will be held at a Tokyo detention centre, where they will be questioned and investigated, Yamamoto told reporters.

"The two suspects, knowing Carlos Ghosn was on bail on condition that he not go abroad... helped Ghosn to escape and concealed this," the prosecutors said in a statement after the men arrived.

The single charge on which the pair have been arrested carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.

The pair tried to block Japan's extradition request, with their lawyers claiming the men would face torture-like conditions in Japan, but the US Supreme Court struck down their appeal in February.

"This is a sad day for the family, and for all who believe that veterans deserve better treatment from their own country," Paul Kelly, their lawyer, said in a statement confirming they had been handed over to Japanese custody.

READ MORE: Nissan ex-chair Ghosn describes Japan arrest as a plot

'Well-orchestrated escape'

Japanese TV channel's showed video of a Japan Airlines flight carrying the two men land at Narita. They were largely hidden behind a tarp held up by Japanese authorities.

Ghosn, who led Nissan Motor Co. for more than two decades, was arrested in 2018, and charged with under-reporting his future compensation and breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for personal gain. He says he is innocent.

Japan has put Ghosn on Interpol’s wanted list, but Lebanon has no extradition treaty with Japan.

Dates for Taylors' trial and formal charges were still undecided. Under Japanese law, suspects can be held without a formal charge for up to 23 days.

“We would like to deeply thank the US government for their cooperation,” Yamamoto said.

Having spent months in detention, Ghosn was out on bail awaiting trial on the charges, which he denies, when he fled the country in what Japanese prosecutors termed "one of the most brazen and well-orchestrated escape acts in recent history".

A Turkish court sentenced two pilots and another employee of a small private airline last month to four years and two months in prison for their role in Ghosn's escape.

Ghosn transited in Turkey, switching planes on his way to Lebanon, and the three Turks were charged with involvement in conspiracy to smuggle a migrant.

Two other pilots and two flight attendants on trial in Turkey were acquitted.

READ MORE: Lebanon bans Ghosn from foreign travel