Americans Michael Taylor and his son Peter might face jail phrases of as much as three years after Tokyo prosecutors charged them on Monday with illegally helping former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan greater than a yr in the past.

Extradited by U.S. authorities this month, the U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and his son have been detained in the identical jail within the Japanese capital the place Ghosn was held.

In a press release, the Tokyo prosecutors’ workplace stated the lads knowingly helped Ghosn evade punishment and escape to Lebanon by hiding him in carry-on baggage aboard a personal jet that departed from western Japan’s Kansai airport in Dec 2019.

The prosecutors didn’t say after they anticipate the trial to begin. Japan’s conviction charge is 99%.

Ghosn stays a fugitive in his childhood dwelling, Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.

Japanese regulation doesn’t permit suspects to have their legal professionals current throughout questioning by prosecutors. Once charged, defendants are sometimes refused bail by courts earlier than trial.

Lawyers for the Taylors had waged a months-long battle to maintain them from being despatched to Japan, arguing they may not be prosecuted for helping somebody to leap bail.

They additionally stated they confronted the prospect of relentless interrogation and torture.

The U.S. State Department rejected the torture declare as unlikely, and the U.S. Supreme Court final month cleared the best way for his or her extradition.

Prosecutors stated Michael Taylor, a 60-year-old non-public safety specialist, and his 28-year-old son obtained $1.three million for his or her providers.

At the time of his escape, Ghosn was awaiting trial on expenses of economic wrongdoing expenses, together with understating his compensation in Nissan’s monetary statements and enriching himself at his employer’s expense by means of funds to automobile dealerships.

Ghosn denies wrongdoing.

Greg Kelly, a former Nissan government, is standing trial in Tokyo charged with helping Ghosn conceal 9.three billion yen ($85 million) in earnings.