Society

U.S. says Ghosn's son paid $500,000 in cryptocurrency to man for escape from Japan

Jul 24 (Japan Today) - The son of former Nissan Motor Co chairman 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 said in a court filing.

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

The cryptocurrency, or digital currency, payments from Ghosn's son, Anthony Ghosn, were on top of $862,500 Ghosn himself had wired to a company Peter Taylor managed in October, two months before his Dec 29, 2019 escape, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors detailed the payments in a filing arguing against the Taylors' latest bid to be released on bail. They have been in jail since their arrests in May at the request of Japan, which is seeking their extradition.

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

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