A Japanese court has sentenced two accomplices of former auto manager Carlos Ghosn to 24 and 20 months in prison, respectively. The two US citizens, father and son, admitted in court that they helped Ghosn escape from Japan at the end of 2019. Former US elite soldier Michael T. Imprisoned for two years, his son, Peter T. for a period of 20 months.
The attorney general asked for two years and ten months in prison for Michael T. and two years and six months to his son Peter T. Defense attorneys for the two men defended a suspended sentence, arguing that their clients had already spent ten months in US custody before being extradited to Japan. They also showed remorse in court.
Michael and Peter T. were arrested in the US in May 2020 and extradited to Japan earlier this year. US investigators described Ghosn’s escape as one of the “most daring and organized escapes in modern history”.
At the end of 2019, Ghosn flew hidden in a large suitcase on a private plane from Osaka to Istanbul and from there to Beirut. The director also holds Lebanese citizenship. He is still in Lebanon and is not allowed to leave the country. But Lebanon does not expel its citizens, which is why the Japanese judiciary cannot reach it.
Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018. The judiciary accuses him, among other things, of transferring private losses to car manufacturer Nissan, which is allied with French carmaker Renault, and embezzling the company’s capital. There are also investigations against Ghosn in France. Among other things, it concerns the possible illegal financing of two lavish parties at the Palace of Versailles.
According to the US Attorney, Michael T. He traveled to Japan several times and met Ghosn there at least seven times. According to Japanese media, his son Peter is said to have received just under 1.1 million euros from the Ghosn family for the assistance.