Authorities in Japan have issued arrest warrants for three men on suspicion of smuggling former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn out of the country, Time reports.
Prosecutors revealed in a statement that arrest warrants had been issued for former U.S. Green Beret Michael Taylor and two other men, George-Antoine Zayek and Peter Taylor, for their involvement in allegedly orchestrating Ghosn’s escape.
In the days after Ghosn turned up in Beirut, Lebanon despite being stuck on bail in Japan, details about the daring escape started to emerge. 59-year-old Michael Taylor is thought to have been instrumental in the escape and arranged for Ghosn to be transported inside an audio-equipment case to sneak through Japanese airport security. Taylor and Zayek are also believed to have accompanied Ghosn to an Osaka hotel and wheeled the box carrying the former industry executive through the lobby of the Osaka airport.
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Prosecutors haven’t said where they believe Michael Taylor, George-Antoine Zayek, and Peter Taylor are staying and if they could be extradited to Japan.
It is claimed that Peter Taylor met several times with Ghosn in Tokyo starting in July 2019 to plan the escape. Japanese prosecutor Takahiro Saito also revealed authorities forced open a lock to search the office of Ghosn’s former defense lawyer Junichiro Hironaka in search of records of who Ghosn met with while out on bail.
As for Ghosn’s future, it was recently confirmed Lebanon and Japan have about 40 days to decide whether Ghosn will be extradited to Japan or stand trial in Lebanon. The latter seems much more likely.
