Washington agrees to hand over to Japan accused of smuggling Carlos Ghosn

The United States of America agreed to extradite two Americans suspected of helping former Lebanese auto magnate Carlos Ghosn flee the judiciary under bizarre circumstances to Japan in late 2019.

But a federal judge in Massachusetts halted the extradition process on Thursday after the two men appealed the decision, pending a hearing in their case, according to Sky News.

Michael Taylor, a former member of the United States Special Forces who moved to work for a private security company, and his son Peter Taylor (27 years old) were arrested on May 20 in Massachusetts at the request of Tokyo.

According to a court document, US Under Secretary of State Stephen Begon approved Japan’s extradition request. “I confirm that the decision to extradite Taylor and his son to Japan is consistent with international obligations and national laws and regulations,” said State Department attorney Karen Johnson. As reported, “Agence France Presse”.

Father and son confirm that on Wednesday they received an email informing them that they will be flown from Boston to Tokyo at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday. They believe they will not have a fair trial in Japan. His lawyers described the State Department’s decision as “arbitrary” and violated US law and the extradition agreement signed with Japan, noting that Tokyo did not provide sufficient evidence.

Tokyo accused the two men, as well as Lebanese George Antoine Zaik, of helping the former head of the “Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors” alliance escape from the Japanese judiciary in December 2019.

The Japanese judiciary had released Ghosn, who was accused of financial misconduct and has French, Lebanese and Brazilian nationalities, while preventing him from leaving Japan. But he managed to escape the country in a box of a musical instrument.

Since then, Carlos Ghosn, who denies the charges against him, has sought refuge in Lebanon, which does not link him to an extradition agreement with Japan.