Allen Ifechukwu Athan Onyema, the CEO and founder of Nigerian airline Air Peace, faces additional charges from the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Initially indicted in 2019 for bank fraud and money laundering, Onyema is now also charged with obstruction of justice.

The obstruction charge stems from allegations that Onyema, who in addition to his business ventures is known for his work in promoting peace and non-violence in Nigeria, submitted false documents to government authorities in an attempt to halt the investigation into the initial fraud charges.

The attorney's office has refuted claims made by Nigerian media that the new charges against Onyema and the airline's chief of administration and finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, have been dropped.

L/C abuse

The case revolves around a scheme in which Onyema and Eghagha, allegedly used fraudulent letters of credit (L/Cs) to move more than US$20 million through US bank accounts.

These L/Cs were meant to fund the purchase of aircraft for Air Peace, but the supporting documents were allegedly fabricated, with Springfield Aviation Company, a Georgia-registered company owned by Onyema, being used as a front in the fake US$20 million transaction allegedly perpetrated in May 2016.

The funds were then laundered through US accounts, with over US$16 million allegedly transferred to other accounts controlled by Onyema.

New charges

Onyema and Eghagha now face new charges for attempting to obstruct the investigation by submitting a falsified business contracts to the US government in a bid to unfreeze bank accounts and end the probe.

This case remains ongoing, and both Onyema and his co-defendant maintain their innocence as the US government continues its efforts to prosecute the case.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.