U.S. says son of Carlos Ghosn made cryptocurrency payments for escape

The son of former Nissan Motor boss Carlos Ghosn made about $500,000 in cryptocurrency payments to one of the two Massachusetts men who helped him escape from Japan, U.S. prosecutors stated in a court filing.

Federal prosecutors in a filing on Wednesday said the payments went to Peter Taylor after he and his father, U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor, assisted Ghosn to flee in a box and in a private jet.

The cryptocurrency payments from Ghosn’s son, Anthony Ghosn, were on top of $862,500 Ghosn himself had wired to a company Peter Taylor handled in October, two months before the escape which took place on 29 December, 2019, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors provided the details of payments in a filing arguing against the Taylors’ recent bid to be released on bail. They have been in jail since their arrests in May at the request of Japan, which has asked for their extradition.

U.S. prosecutors mentioned the money in arguing that both the elder Taylor, a private security specialist, and his son pose a clear flight risk, saying they “now have access to Ghosn’s vast resources with which to flee”.

Prosecutors cited the latest TV interview with Ghosn in which he said he was helping everyone who stood with him.

The Taylors’ lawyers and spokesperson for Ghosn are yet to comment.

Ghosn fled to Lebanon, his childhood home while awaiting a trial in Japan over alleged financial wrongdoing. He rejects wrongdoing.

The Taylors argue the charges against them are defective as the Japanese penal code does not make it a criminal offense to assist someone “bail jump” unless that person is in custody.

A federal judge is set to hear arguments on their recent bid for bail on Tuesday.