Updated Mar 2, 2021 - World

2 Americans accused of helping Ghosn escape in Japanese custody

Rebecca Falconer

Carlos Ghosn, former Nissan chief executive officer, pauses during a news conference at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in Jounieh, Lebanon, on Tuesday, Sept. 29 — Former Nissan chair Carlos Ghosn during a news conference in Jounieh, Lebanon, last September. Photo: Hasan Shaaban/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Two Americans accused of helping former Nissan chair Carlos Ghosn flee Japan in a box in 2019 were taken into Japanese custody after arriving at an airport near Tokyo Tuesday, per the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: The extradition of Michael Taylor, 60, a private security specialist and former Green Beret, and his son Peter Maxwell Taylor, 27, ends a months-long fight to remain in the U.S.

A request for the Supreme Court to hear an emergency appeal was denied last month.

The big picture: Ghosn was awaiting trial in Tokyo on financial misconduct charges following his 2018 arrest when he fled to Lebanon. The Lebanese citizen denies any wrongdoing.

The Taylors, from Massachusetts, had been detained in a Boston jail since their arrest last May.
When asked during an interview with Vanity Fair last year why he became involved in Ghosn's escape, Michael Taylor responded by quoting the Special Forces' motto: "De oppresso liber" or "to liberate the oppressed."
He told AP last month his son wasn't involved in the operation.

Add Axios on Google

2 Americans accused of helping Ghosn escape in Japanese custody

What to read next