U.S. prosecutors claim Anthony Ghosn, son of international fugitive Carlos Ghosn, used Coinbase to pay 63 bitcoin to two men in exchange for smuggling his father out of Japan.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal published July 23, authorities say the former Renault and Nissan head Carlos Ghosn was smuggled out of Japan in December 2019 by Michael and Peter Taylor, following his son’s payment of 63 BTC ($500,000). The report claims Coinbase provided Japanese investigators with evidence of the transactions on Ghosn’s account, including BTC transfers to an account belonging to Peter Taylor.
Ghosn transferred 63 BTC between January and May 2020 in seven separate transactions, worth around $500K at the time. The filings also show a bank account belonging to Peter Taylor, which received two wire transfers totaling $870,000 from Carlos Ghosn in October 2019.
According to the report, U.S. authorities are currently holding Michael Taylor, a former green beret, and Peter at the request of Japan, who is seeking extradition.
Ghosn was originally arrested in November 2018 on allegations of false accounting and attempting to displace $16.6 million in personal loss on Nissan’s books. Ghosn was placed under house arrest for nearly a year before making his escape last December.
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