Air Peace boss Onyema, official face $44m fraud charges in U.S.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, and the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, have been charged for allegedly submitting false documents to stop a federal investigation in the United States.

Onyema and Eghagha were also accused with obstruction of justice, bank fraud, and money laundering in an ongoing case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia disclosed this in a statement on Friday, October 11, 2024.

The Office stated: “Allen Onyema, the Chairman, CEO, and founder of Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, 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 of him that resulted in earlier charges of bank fraud and money laundering.

“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.”

It noted that Onyema and Eghagha allegedly used fraudulent export letters of credit to transfer over $20 million into U.S. bank accounts between 2016 and 2018.

It stated that the funds were reportedly intended for purchasing five Boeing 737 aircraft for Air Peace, saying investigations revealed that documents such as purchase agreements and appraisals were falsified.

The company listed as the seller, Springfield Aviation, was said to have been owned by Onyema and had no legitimate involvement in aviation.

The Office said following the initial bank fraud and money laundering charges, Onyema and Eghagha allegedly attempted to obstruct the investigation by directing an individual managing Springfield Aviation to sign a backdated contract.

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Onyema’s lawyers were said to have later submitted this contract to U.S. authorities in an effort to halt the investigation and unfreeze his bank accounts, which led to additional charges of obstruction of justice.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan stated that Onyema allegedly used his airline as a front for fraud and later attempted to derail the investigation.

He noted that federal investigators’ diligence helped expose the obstruction scheme, holding the defendants accountable.

Buchanan added: “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.

“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.”

The Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division, Robert J. Murphy, further stated that the cases demonstrated the Drug Enforcement Administration’s commitment to identifying and holding accountable those involved in fraud and money laundering.

The statement added that the case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation, which targets high-level criminal organisations that pose risks to U.S. financial systems.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia had, in a statement on November 22, 2019, said Onyema had been charged with bank fraud and money laundering.

Onyema was alleged to have transferred over $20 million through U.S. bank accounts using falsified documents related to airplane purchases.

Eghagha was also charged with fraud and aggravated identity theft.

U.S. authorities stated that Onyema used his airline and nonprofit organisations to facilitate the fraudulent scheme, moving over $44.9 million between 2010 and 2018.

The investigation revealed that supporting documents for the transactions were falsified, adding that Onyema allegedly laundered over $16 million.

The Star