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.”
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.
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