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Allen Onyema, chairman of Air Peace, has been charged ‘in a superseding indictment with obstruction of justice for submitting false documents to the government in an effort to end an investigation that resulted in earlier charges of bank fraud and money laundering.’
This was contained in a statement released on Saturday by the Justice Department.
Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, was also charged for participating in the obstruction scheme, as well as in the earlier bank fraud counts, the statement posted on Justice.gov claimed.
“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, according to the statement.
Onyema has consistently denied the report and insisted on his innocence.
But the statement was quick to add that the indictments only contain charges as the defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
“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.
“These cases represent the continued commitment of the Drug Enforcement Administration to identify and hold accountable those who engaged in fraud and money laundering,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.
“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, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Atlanta Field Office.”
According to the charges, the superseding indictment “is indicative of the dedication IRS-CI special agents and our law enforcement partners have, as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, to neutralize threats to the United States from criminal organizations.”
“The charges announced today demonstrate the criticality of diligence and truth in criminal justice proceedings,” said Steven N. Schrank, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta that covers Georgia and Alabama. “HSI and our partners are committed to pursuing those who seek to exploit our nation’s financial system and any efforts to cover up illegal activity.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the superseding indictment, and other information presented in court: Onyema, a Nigerian citizen and businessman, is the CEO and Chairman of Air Peace, a Nigerian airline founded in 2013.
It stated that between 2010 and 2018, Onyema travelled frequently to Atlanta, where he opened several personal and business bank accounts.
According to Buchanan, more than $44.9 million was allegedly transferred into his Atlanta-based accounts from foreign sources.
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.
Recall that the American and a former staff of Springfield Aviation Company, who was accused to have played a key role in an alleged bank fraud case against Onyema, has stated that there was no loss suffered by any bank.
In a statement issued by A.O. Alegeh & Co Legal Practitioners & Notaries Public, a law firm and Counsel to Allen Onyema, Ejiro Eghagha and Air Peace Limited stated that the position of the court has cleared its clients.
