Ex-Green Beret used concert as cover for Ghosn escape

Taylor tried to 'tip' airport staffer with wad of 10,000 yen bills, Tokyo prosecutors say

20210322N Ghosn

Former Nissan Motor chief Carlos Ghosn was reportedly smuggled onto an Istanbul-bound private jet while hidden in a speaker box. © Reuters

HITOSHI ITO and WATARU KAWASAKI, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- "We're violinists," Michael Taylor, the former Green Beret who engineered Carlos Ghosn's daring 2019 escape from Japan, told a terminal manager at Kansai International Airport while on his way to ferry the former Nissan Motor chief out of the country in a subwoofer box.

Details of the elaborate scheme to help Ghosn flee to Lebanon while out on bail have emerged in the investigation into Taylor and his son Peter, who were charged by Japanese prosecutors Monday after their extradition from the U.S. this month. The pair allegedly received well over $1 million in compensation from Ghosn -- who faces charges of financial misconduct -- and his family.

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