This handout video grab image released by The Istanbul Police Department to DHA News Agency on Jan 17, 2020, shows Michael Taylor (second right) and George Antoine Zayek (center) at passport control in Istanbul Airport, two men accused of helping fugitive businessman Carlos Ghosn escape via an Istanbul airport, as he fled a corruption trial in Japan. (TURKISH POLICE / DEMIROREN NEWS AGENCY (DHA) / AFP)

TOKYO - Japanese authorities on Thursday issued arrest warrants for a former US special forces soldier and two other men on suspicion of smuggling former Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) boss Carlos Ghosn out of Japan.

Carlos Ghosn fled to Lebanon at the end of last year while he was awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust & misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies

Warrants were issued for former US Green Beret Michael Taylor and two other men, George-Antoine Zayek and Peter Taylor, prosecutors said in a statement. A warrant was also issued for Ghosn for illegally leaving the country, prosecutors said.

Ghosn fled to Lebanon, his childhood home, at the end of last year, while he was awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies.

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A pedestrian passes by a huge screen showing a news program featuring former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo on Jan 9, 2020. (BEHROUZ MEHRI / AFP)

The arrest warrants come days after prosecutors searched the Tokyo office of Ghosn’s former lawyer.

Lebanon and Japan have about 40 days to decide whether Ghosn will be extradited to Japan or stand trial in Lebanon, Reuters reported last week.

The two countries have no extradition treaty and Lebanon does not typically hand over its nationals. Ghosn’s legal team is hoping to hold the trial in Lebanon, where the former auto executive has deep ties and hopes to clear his name.

Ghosn has struck out at what he has called Japan’s unjust judicial system and said the alternative to fleeing would have been to spend the rest of his life languishing in Tokyo without a fair trial.