The U.S. government has filed new charges against Allen Onyema, Air Peace CEO, accusing him of obstructing justice and participating in fraudulent schemes targeting U.S. banks
The U.S. government has initiated legal action against Allen Onyema, the CEO of Nigerian airline Air Peace, filing fraud and obstruction charges against him. The indictment includes claims of falsified documents to impede an ongoing investigation into earlier allegations of bank fraud and money laundering. The charges underline a serious attempt to bring Onyema to justice over what the authorities call fraudulent dealings targeting the U.S. financial system.
Onyema, alongside Air Peace’s Chief of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, faces accusations of conspiring to obstruct justice. Both are alleged to have played key roles in submitting fraudulent paperwork, as part of an effort to derail the investigation. The charges are rooted in a superseding indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Georgia, adding new layers of fraud and obstruction to an already complex case.
The fraud and obstruction charges against Air Peace CEO further include allegations that Onyema used the airline as a front to facilitate illicit financial transactions. The authorities accuse him of moving over $44.9 million from foreign sources into U.S. bank accounts between 2010 and 2018. In one major aspect of the scheme, Onyema and Eghagha reportedly presented fake export letters of credit to transfer more than $20 million under the guise of purchasing Boeing aircraft for Air Peace.
When Onyema learned of the investigation in 2019, the fraud and obstruction charges against Air Peace CEO intensified as both Onyema and Eghagha allegedly submitted a backdated contract to deceive U.S. officials. This contract was reportedly intended to mislead investigators and secure the unfreezing of their bank accounts. The initial charges against the pair in 2019 included conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes, but the new indictment escalates the case.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have both emphasized the seriousness of the fraud and obstruction charges against Air Peace CEO, noting that these actions posed a significant threat to U.S. banking integrity. Investigators are committed to holding Onyema and his associates accountable for their alleged attempts to obstruct justice.
The case remains under investigation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
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