PROSECUTORS in Tokyo have issued an arrest warrant for Nissan’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn, who skipped bail while awaiting trial in Japan and is now in Lebanon.
Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon, so he is unlikely to be arrested, and Lebanon has indicated it will not hand him over.
Tokyo prosecutors also issued arrest warrants for three Americans they said helped and planned his escape – Michael Taylor, George-Antoine Zayek and Peter Taylor.
Deputy chief prosecutor Takahiro Saito declined to say where the three men were thought to be staying.
He said Michael Taylor and Zayek are suspected of helping Ghosn flee by hiding him in cargo at a Japanese airport and getting him into a private jet to leave the country.
Saito would not say if Japan has asked US authorities for help, though he said all options were being explored. Japan and the US have an extradition treaty.
Michael Taylor is a former Green Beret and private security specialist. Peter Taylor appears to be his son.
Prosecutors say Ghosn broke the law by violating bail conditions that required him to stay in Japan, mostly at his Tokyo home.
“We want to stress that the act of fleeing was clearly wrong,” Saito told reporters. “We need to erase the misunderstanding.”
Ghosn has said he is innocent of allegations he under-reported his future income and committed a breach of trust by diverting Nissan money for his personal gain.
He has lashed out at the Japanese judicial system, saying he fled because he could not expect a fair trial, was subjected to unfair conditions in detention and was barred from meeting his wife under his bail conditions.
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