Arrest warrants for Air Peace (P4, Lagos) chairman and CEO Allen Onyema and a co-accused have been issued in the United States after they were indicted for obstruction of justice for allegedly submitting false documents to terminate a federal investigation that resulted in 35 charges of bank fraud and money laundering in 2019.

According to court documents filed on October 8, Assistant US Attorney Christopher J. Huber in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has directed the issuing of warrants of arrest for Onyema, and the airline's chief of administration and finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha. The latter has also been indicted for allegedly participating in the obstruction scheme, as well as in the earlier bank fraud counts.

This follows a superseding indictment issued by US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Ryan K. Buchanan against both accused, including a forfeiture provision totalling USD14.1 million on conviction on one or more of the alleged offences. This includes USD4 million seized from an account at JP Morgan Chase Bank and USD4.5 million held in an account at the Bank of Montreal Canada, both in the name of Springfield Aviation company; and USD5.6 million held in another account at Bank of Montreal Canada in the name of Bluestream Aero Services.

According to the indictment, Onyema is accused of using Air Peace as a cover to commit fraud in the US banking system. Onyema and Eghagha then allegedly committed additional fraud in a failed attempt to derail US federal investigations.

In reaction, Air Peace issued a statement emphasising that Onyema and Eghagha remain innocent as the case is still sub judice, according to reports by local newspapers This Day Live and The Heritage Times. The airline noted the latest indictment is part of a prolonged legal process related to earlier financial allegations. "While the charges have been expanded, it is essential to emphasise that both Dr Onyema and Mrs Eghagha remain innocent and these are mere allegations, and the case is still in court. Our legal team is fully engaged with the matter and is working tirelessly to ensure that justice prevails. We remain confident that, through due process, the truth will be revealed, and our CEO and co-defendant will be exonerated."

The initial charges

According to Buchanan, the superseding indictment, and other information presented in court, between 2010 and 2018, Onyema frequently travelled to Atlanta, where he opened multiple personal and business bank accounts. During this time, more than USD44.9 million allegedly was transferred into these accounts from foreign sources.

Around May 2016, Onyema and Eghagha allegedly used export letters of credit to facilitate the transfer of more than USD20 million into Onyema's Atlanta bank accounts. These letters were purported to finance the purchase of five B737s for Air Peace, backed by documents like purchase agreements and appraisals that were found to have been fake. Accusations include that the company listed as the seller, Springfield Aviation Company LLC, was actually owned by Onyema, managed by someone unrelated to aviation, and never owned the aircraft. Additionally, the appraisal firm cited did not exist. Eghagha allegedly aided in this scheme by directing the manager to create and submit false documents and using the manager’s identity in the process. After receiving the funds, Onyema is accused of laundering more than USD16 million by transferring it to other accounts.

In 2022, Ebony Mayfield, a former employee of Springfield Aviation Company, was sentenced to three years of probation and a USD4,000 fine for submitting fake documents related to the Air Peace aircraft transaction.

The alleged cover-up

In May 2019, after discovering that he was under investigation in the Northern District of Georgia for bank fraud, Onyema and Eghagha allegedly instructed the Springfield Aviation manager to sign a key business contract without dating it. Later, in October 2019, Onyema reportedly had his attorneys submit this same contract, now falsely dated May 5, 2016, to the government in an attempt to halt the investigation and unfreeze his bank accounts.

On November 19, 2019, Onyema was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit credit application fraud, and three counts of credit application fraud. Additionally, Onyema was charged with 27 counts of money laundering, and Eghagha was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft. On October 8, 2024, they were both charged in a superseding indictment alleging an additional count of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The case is criminal action number 1:19-CR-464.

The US investigation involves the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Treasury.

ch-aviation has reached out to Onyema for comment.

In April, Onyema announced plans to debut flights to New York and Houston by the end of 2024, but US government records show Air Peace has yet to apply for a US Foreign Air Carrier Permit or Exemption Authority. The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace granted approval in February 2024 for Air Peace to start flights to New York JFK.