By Halimah Olamide
The CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has been charged with obstruction of justice of an ongoing bank fraud investigation.
He was accused of submitting false documents in an attempt to halt an investigation into earlier charges of bank fraud and money laundering
A statement by the United State’s Attorney, Ryan Buchanan alleged that Onyema allegedly used his airline as a cover to commit fraudulent activities on the U.S. banking system.
Air Peace’s Chief of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, and Onyema have been alleged to be involved in money laundering since 2019.
Onyema is accused of moving over $20 million from Nigeria through U.S. bank accounts using fraudulent documents under the guise of purchasing airplanes.
Eghagha is also facing charges of aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.
“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,” he said.