The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia has denied recent reports by Nigerian media that charges against Air Peace CEO Allen Onyema and the airline’s chief of administration and finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, have been dismissed.
According to the office, the charges remain intact, and both executives now face additional allegations related to obstruction of justice.
The statement stated, “The two executives were initially indicted in 2019 for 35 counts of bank fraud and money laundering after being accused of submitting false documents during a federal investigation. Despite this, on October 22, some Nigerian outlets falsely claimed that Onyema had been cleared of all fraud allegations by a U.S. court.
“The reports were based on outdated information from the law firm AO Alegho and Co., which had responded to the 2022 sentencing of Ebony Mayfield, a former U.S. employee involved in a $20 million Air Peace transaction for Boeing 737 aircraft in 2016.
While the reports claim no bank losses were recorded, U.S. authorities emphasised rthat the legal proceedings against Onyema and Eghagha are still underway, with new charges further complicating the case.
