A Special Forces veteran and his son admitted to aiding in Ghosn’s escape from Japan.

In 2019, former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn was under house arrest in Japan, awaiting trial on charges of undercutting his company and pocketing the difference. As Japan’s legal system has an extremely high conviction rate, odds were strong if he remained, he would be convicted for these crimes. As such, in December of that year, Ghosn was secretly smuggled out of his home to Japan’s Kansai airport, where he boarded a plane to Lebanon. Ghosn himself remains a fugitive, but the father and son duo that aided in his escape were caught and charged earlier this year.

Today, U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Michael Taylor and his son Peter Taylor stood trial stood trial for the crime of aiding and abetting a wanted criminal. The presiding judge, Chief judge Hideo Nirei, asked the two of them if there were any aspects of the charges they wished to debate, to which they both said no, pleading guilty.

Ghosn paid the Taylors $1.3 million for aiding in their escape, after which they left Japan for the United States. When they were caught, they were extradited to Japan, and have been held in the same prison that once held Ghosn. Should they be convicted in this trial, they could both face up to three years in Japanese prison.

While the Taylors are on trial, a third member of the group that aided Ghosn, George-Antoine Zayek, still remains at large. According to reports, Zayek scoped out the airport prior to the escape, searching for the best possible means of evading airport security. Zayek’s whereabouts, as well as how he was compensated for assisting Ghosn and the Taylors, remain unknown.