US approves extradition of Carlos Ghosn’s accused escape plotters to Japan

Americans Michael and Peter Taylor allegedly helped smuggle ex-Nissan boss out of country while he was awaiting trial on financial crimes

Ghosn fled to his childhood home of Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan

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Carlos Ghosn, then the chairman of Nissan, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong in 2018. Photo: AP

Published: 1:13am, 30 Oct 2020Updated: 4:12am, 30 Oct 2020

The US State Department has approved turning over to Japan two Massachusetts men to face charges that they helped smuggle former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn out of the country while he was awaiting trial on financial crimes.

Lawyers for US Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, disclosed the department’s decision in a court filing in federal court in Boston as they sought to delay the transfer, which could happen later on Thursday.

Lawyers for the Taylors did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did the White House and State Department.

The State Department’s decision came after a federal magistrate judge in September rejected the two men’s challenge to their potential extradition following their arrests in May at the request of Japanese authorities.

Michael Taylor, who was implicated in enabling the dramatic escape of former Nissan Motor boss Carlos Ghosn, is seen in a booking photograph from October 2012 on unrelated charges. Photo: Davis County Sherriff's Office handout via Reuters

Prosecutors say the Taylors facilitated a “brazen” escape in which Ghosn fled Japan on December 29, 2019, hidden in a box and on a private plane before reaching Lebanon, his childhood home, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.

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