Carlos Ghosn Paid Ex-Green Beret $860,000 For Great Escape

U.S. prosecutors said ex-Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn paid a company managed by Ex-Green Beret Michael Taylor $860,000 in October for his great escape from Tokyo to Lebanon two months later to avoid criminal charges, reported Bloomberg. 

A Tuesday court filing shows Ghosn wired Taylor two separate payments, $540,000 on October 9 and $322,500 on October 25, to Promote Fox LLC, a company managed by Taylor and another family member. 

U.S. authorities arrested the former special operations soldier and his son, Peter Taylor, in May, for their involvement in Ghosn’s great escape, who was packed into a music box and loaded onto a private plane in December and flown from Tokyo to Turkey then to Lebanon.

In January, the Japanese government issued arrest warrants accusing Michael and Peter Taylor of playing an influential role in the escape. The Taylors have been jailed outside Boston since mid-May. Their lawyers are fighting for bail while courts in Boston decides whether they are eligible for extradition with Japan. 

U.S. prosecutors, in the court filing, said the Taylors are a flight risk. Japan recently submitted a formal extradition request for the pair. 

Prosecutors in Japan claim the Taylors met with Ghosn at a Grand Hyatt Hotel on December 28, one day before the escape. They believe both Americans were key players in orchestrating the plane to fly Ghosn out of Tokyo in a music box.

Paul Kelly, a lawyer for the Taylors, told Bloomberg his clients aren’t a flight risk and should be granted bail.

Lawyers and lobbyists for the Taylors are in communication with at least three members of Congres, according to Bloomberg, in the attempt to avoid extradition to Japan. 

It remains to be seen if the Taylors are using the money Ghosn wired them in October to cover legal expenses.