Ever since it was revealed that Carlos Ghosn had somehow escaped Japan and fled to Lebanon, speculation has been rife about how the former Nissan executives was able to avoid authorities.
The Wall Street Journal claims that Ghosn somehow got in contact with a man by the name of Michael Taylor, a former Green Beret with expertise in exfiltration in the security contractor world. It is claimed that Taylor prepared the plane used to remove Ghosn from Japan in Dubai before flying to meet the embattled industry executive late Sunday night for the flight to Turkey and then Lebanon.
The Saga Continues: Interpol Issues Wanted Notice To Lebanon For Carlos Ghosn
The plan was set in motion on December 28 when a hearing signaled a delay to Ghosn’s trial. At 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Ghosn was reportedly spotted leaving his house in Tokyo alone while wearing a hat and a surgical mask covering his face. Somehow, Ghosn made the 300-mile journey to Osaka’s Kansai International Airport.
https://twitter.com/MarkMaremont/status/1213514591260598272
It is claimed that he was then loaded into a waiting private jet inside a wheeled black case ordinarily used to transport stage show equipment for musicians. Roughly 12 hours later, the jet landed in the Ataturk airport in Turkey where Ghosn was driven 100 yards across the tarmac to a smaller jet that ferried him to Lebanon.
Late last week, Turkey detained four pilots suspected of helping Ghosn flee via the off-the-books stop in Istanbul.
What’s particularly odd about the whole thing is that Ghosn’s lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, claims to be in possession of Ghosn’s passports from Lebanon, Brazil, and France as required under Ghosn’s $14 million bail conditions. However, according to the Lebanese minister for presidential affairs, Salim Jreissati, Ghosn “entered the country legally using his French passport and Lebanese ID.”
Carlos Ghosn has insisted his family was not involved in the escape and that he will speak to the media on January 8th.
