Allen Onyema, the Chairman, CEO and founder of Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, was charged in a superseding indictment on Oct. 11 with obstruction of justice for submitting false documents to the U.S. government to end an investigation of him.
The investigation had resulted in earlier charges of bank fraud and money laundering.
Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, was also charged with participating in the obstruction scheme, as well as in the earlier bank fraud counts.
As of Nov. 5, Onyema was still the CEO of Air Peace.
Since May 2016, Onyema and Eghagha allegedly used a series of export letters of credit to cause banks to transfer more than $20 million into Atlanta-based bank accounts controlled by Onyema, according to a statement published by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia.
The letters of credit were purported to fund the purchase of five separate Boeing 737 passenger planes by Air Peace and were supported by documents such as purchase agreements, bills of sale and appraisals. The documents indicated that Air Peace was purchasing the aircraft from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, a business registered in Georgia, say prosecutors.
Between 2010 and 2018, over $44.9 million was allegedly transferred into Onyema’s Atlanta-based accounts from foreign sources, according to the Justice Department.
“After allegedly using his airline company as a cover to commit fraud on the United States’ banking system, Onyema, along with his co-defendant, allegedly committed additional crimes of fraud in a failed attempt to derail the government’s investigation of his conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan in a press release.
“Allegedly, Onyema and his accomplices fraudulently used the U.S. banking system in an effort to hide the source of their ill-gotten money,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Lisa Fontanette of the Internal Revenue Service. Fontanette works for the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS’s Atlanta Field Office.
Air Peace issued a public statement about the situation, as reported by Nigerian media:
“These charges leveled against our post-holders are part of an extended legal process stemming from earlier accusations of financial misdeeds that date back several years.
While the charges have been expanded, it is essential to emphasize that both Dr. Onyema and Mrs. Eghagha remain innocent and these are mere allegations, and the case is still in court. Our legal team is fully engaged with the matter and is working tirelessly to ensure that justice prevails. We remain confident that, through due process, the truth will be revealed, and our CEO and co-defendant will be exonerated.”
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