Allen Onyema, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace, has been charged by the US for alleged obstruction of justice.
In a superseding indictment, the US attorney’s office, Northern District of Georgia, said Onyema and Ejiroghene Eghagha, the Air Peace’s chief of administration and finance, allegedly submitted false documents to end a federal investigation against them.
Onyema and Eghagha have been under investigation for alleged money laundering since 2019.
While the Air Peace CEO is accused of moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through US bank accounts in a scheme involving “false documents” to purchase airplanes, Eghagha is said to have committed aggravated identity theft in connection with the plot.
In a statement on Friday, Ryan Buchanan of the US attorney’s office in Atlanta Georgia, said the defendants were trying to impede the initial investigation against them.
“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,” Buchanan said.
“The diligence of our federal investigative partners revealed the defendants’ alleged obstruction scheme, making it possible for the defendants to be held accountable for their aggravated conduct of attempting to impede a federal investigation.
“Beginning in approximately May 2016, Onyema, together with 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.
“The letters of credit were purportedly 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 purported to show that Air Peace was purchasing the aircraft from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, a business registered in Georgia.
“However, the supporting documents were allegedly fake – Springfield Aviation Company LLC was owned by Onyema and managed on his behalf by a person with no connection to the aviation business, and Springfield Aviation never owned the aircraft.”
According to TheCable, the statement added that the defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it would be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Air Peace Reacts
The management of Air Peace has stated that its Chief Executive Officer, Allen Onyema, remains innocent in the series of charges levelled against him by the United States Department of Justice.
The airline noted that while the case involving its CEO and the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, is still in court, such will not affect its daily operations, according to a statement signed by the airline’s management on Sunday and posted on its X handle.
The statement, titled, “Reassurance regarding recent US DOJ report,” noted that the charges levelled against the duo 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 emphasise that both Dr Onyema and Mrs Eghagha remain innocent and these are mere allegations, and the case is still in court.”
The airline asserted that its legal team is currently on top of the matter, as it’s confident that, “through due process, the truth will be revealed, and our CEO and co-defendant will be exonerated.”
It also assured the public that “these legal proceedings will not affect the safety, reliability or the day-to-day operations of Air Peace.”
In a superseding indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia accused Onyema and Eghagha of submitting false documents in a bid to thwart a federal investigation into their activities.
