Allen Onyema, founder and CEO of Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, has been charged with obstruction of justice in a new indictment in the United States.
He was accused of submitting false documents in an attempt to halt an investigation into earlier charges of bank fraud and money laundering.
Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, is also facing charges for his role in the obstruction and previous bank fraud schemes.
According to U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, Onyema allegedly used his airline as a front for fraudulent activities targeting the U.S. banking system.
He alleged that when the investigation into these actions intensified, both Onyema and Eghagha reportedly tried to obstruct justice by presenting falsified documents.
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division, emphasized the DEA’s commitment to holding individuals accountable for fraud and money laundering.
IRS Special Agent Lisa Fontanette added that the superseding indictment reflects the persistent efforts of law enforcement to dismantle criminal threats, especially through task forces like the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).
The charges stem from Onyema’s alleged involvement in a scheme where, between 2010 and 2018, he transferred over $44.9 million from foreign sources into his U.S. bank accounts.
Starting in May 2016, he and Eghagha reportedly used falsified export letters of credit to transfer more than $20 million into Onyema’s U.S. accounts under the guise of purchasing Boeing 737 aircraft for Air Peace.
However, the documents supporting the transactions were allegedly fake, and Springfield Aviation, the company involved, was reportedly owned by Onyema and had no real connection to aviation.
In 2019, when Onyema learned he was under investigation, he and Eghagha allegedly conspired to submit a backdated contract to U.S. authorities to mislead the investigation and unfreeze bank accounts. This fraudulent attempt was presented by Onyema’s attorneys to authorities in an effort to stop the investigation.
Onyema and Eghagha were first indicted in November 2019 on charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, multiple counts of bank fraud, credit application fraud, and money laundering.
The recent indictment adds charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The case remains under investigation, and both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
The investigation is being conducted by the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Commerce, and Department of Treasury, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett Bradford and Christopher Huber leading the prosecution.
In a rebuttal, an Air Peace spokesperson told Premium Times in a telephone interview on Saturday, said the new development in the case is a mere recycling of the same set of allegations.
The official said Onyema’s legal team would give a more formal response in due time.