A United States’ court has issued a warrant of arrest for the chief executive officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, who is accused of bank fraud and money laundering by the country’s Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to court documents, Magistrate Justin Anand of the US District Court of the Northern District of Georgia signed the warrant on November 19, ordering the US Marshals Service to arrest him.
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It is not known if US authorities have sought Mr Onyema’s extradition.
The justice department indicted Onyema, 56, on Friday night alongside the airline’s chief of administration and finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha.
It is charging them with bank fraud and money laundering for allegedly moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through US bank accounts in a scheme involving false documents based on the purchase of airplanes.
Court documents also show that bank accounts in the US and Canada reportedly belonging to Air Peace have been frozen as part of the investigation.
The documents showed that $4,017,852.51 was seized from JP Morgan Chase Bank account number ending in 5512 held in the name of Springfield Aviation Company, LLC.
Another $4,593,842.05 held in Bank of Montreal with account number ending 7523 in the name of Springfield Aviation Inc. was also seized.
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The US government also traced and seized $5,634,842.04 held in Bank of Montreal with account number ending in 515 in the name of Bluestream Aero Services, Inc.
Onyema, however, says he is innocent of the allegations, adding that he is willing to clear his name.
