Allen Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, is facing fresh legal trouble in the United States as he has been accused of attempting to obstruct justice in an ongoing money laundering investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia recently unveiled new charges against Onyema and Ejiroghene Eghagha, Air Peace’s Chief of Administration and Finance, alleging that the duo submitted false documents in a bid to derail a federal investigation.
The Clerk of the Court, Kevin Weimer, issued an arrest warrant for Eghagha on October 8, 2024, following her alleged involvement in the obstruction scheme. Both Onyema and Eghagha have been under scrutiny by U.S. authorities since 2019 for allegedly laundering over $20 million from Nigeria into U.S. bank accounts using fraudulent documentation, purportedly for the purchase of airplanes.
In a statement released last Friday, Ryan Buchanan, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, outlined the new charges, emphasizing the additional fraudulent acts the pair allegedly committed to obstruct the investigation. Buchanan accused Onyema of using Air Peace as a front for defrauding the U.S. banking system and attempting to conceal their illicit activities through further crimes.
“Onyema, using his airline company as a cover, allegedly defrauded the U.S. banking system and later, along with his co-defendant, committed further crimes in a failed attempt to derail the government’s probe into his conduct. The diligence of our federal investigative partners exposed the defendants’ alleged obstruction scheme, ensuring that they can now be held accountable for their aggravated conduct,” Buchanan said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, from May 2016, Onyema and Eghagha used export letters of credit to transfer over $20 million into Atlanta-based accounts controlled by Onyema. The funds were allegedly meant to purchase five Boeing 737 passenger planes for Air Peace. However, investigations revealed that the supporting documents, including purchase agreements, bills of sale, and appraisals, were fake.
It was discovered that the planes were supposed to be acquired from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, a Georgia-based business owned by Onyema. However, Springfield Aviation never owned the aircraft, and its manager had no involvement in the aviation industry.
These latest developments intensify the legal challenges facing Onyema and Eghagha, as they face allegations of money laundering, obstruction of justice, and aggravated identity theft. The case continues to unfold as U.S. authorities press forward with their investigation.
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