US Military Particular Forces veteran Michael Taylor advised a Tokyo court docket on Tuesday he regretted serving to Carlos Ghosn flee Japan and stated the previous Nissan Motor Co Ltd chairman ought to have stayed to face trial for alleged monetary misconduct.
Flanked by two guards, Taylor, who was introduced handcuffed into court docket along with his son Peter, bowed deeply to the three judges that may determine their sentence, asking that they permit him to return to the USA to see his disabled father.
“I deeply remorse my actions and sincerely apologise for inflicting difficulties for the judicial system and for the Japanese individuals,” he stated in a quavering voice. Taylor replied sure when the prosecutor requested whether or not he believed Ghosn ought to have stayed in Japan.
The 2 males this month pleaded responsible to fees that, in December 2019, they illegally helped Ghosn escape from western Japan’s Kansai airport hidden in a field aboard a personal jet to Lebanon. Extradited to Japan from the USA in March, they’re being detained on the identical jail in Tokyo the place Ghosn had been held, and withstand three years in jail.
Prosecutors stated the Taylors acquired $1.3 million for his or her providers and one other $500,000 for authorized charges.
The elder Taylor on Tuesday stated a cousin of Ghosn, who’s his spouse’s sister in legislation, helped persuade him to take the job. He additionally stated he felt sympathy for Ghosn and his spouse Carole after they advised him that Ghosn could possibly be held in Japan for as much as 15 years.
