Last week, the United States Department of Justice indicted the CEO in a 27-count of money laundering, three counts of bank fraud, three counts of credit application fraud, and two conspiracy charges.
Charged alongside Onyema is the company's Airline's Chief of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha.
Byung J. “BJay” Pak, a U.S. Attorney, said Onyema, "allegedly leveraged his status as a prominent business leader and airline executive while using falsified documents to commit fraud."
Onyema denies fraud allegations
Per press release by a PR firm based in Atlanta, the Nigerian businessman denied allegations and said he is ready to defend himself in court.
"On behalf of Allen Onyema, we hereby state that he strongly denies and will vigorously defend himself against the allegations made against him by the US Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, concerning the purchase of aircraft, aircraft spares, and aircraft maintenance.
"None of the allegations involve any third party funds but relate to his funds utilized in the airline business.
“There is no allegation that any bank (in the United States, Nigeria or elsewhere), company or individual suffered any financial or any loss whatsoever,” the statement reads in part.
What Onyema failed to address
Though innocent until proven guilty by a competent law court. For an offence of such magnitude, the AirPeace CEO failed to address some of the core issues raised by the United States Department of Justice.
The 27 counts involving money laundering, falsification of documents, and others are no mere allegations but very serious offences, and can attract up to 30 years imprisonment.
![Air Peace CEO, Allen Onyema [Twitter]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'790'%20height%3D'571'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Air Peace CEO, Allen Onyema [Twitter]")
