A U.S. court has issued an arrest warrant for Ejiroghene Eghagha, Chief of Finance and Administration at Air Peace, as part of a growing legal investigation into the airline’s executives. The warrant follows new charges against the airline’s CEO, Allen Onyema, who is accused of attempting to obstruct justice in an ongoing money laundering investigation.
According to a superseding indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, both Onyema and Eghagha are alleged to have submitted false documents to hinder federal investigations into their activities.
On October 8, 2024, Clerk of the Court Kevin Weimer announced the warrant for Eghagha due to her purported involvement in the scheme. Both individuals have been under scrutiny by U.S. authorities since 2019 for alleged money laundering activities. Onyema faces accusations of laundering over $20 million from Nigeria through U.S. bank accounts, falsely claiming the funds were for purchasing aircraft.
Eghagha also faces charges of aggravated identity theft related to the same investigation.
In a statement issued on October 8, U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan outlined the latest allegations against the two defendants. He noted, “Onyema, using his airline company as a cover, allegedly defrauded the U.S. banking system and later, along with his co-defendant, committed further crimes in a failed attempt to derail the government’s probe into his conduct.”
Buchanan emphasized the diligence of federal investigators, stating, “The diligence of our federal investigative partners exposed the defendants’ alleged obstruction scheme, ensuring that they can now be held accountable for their aggravated conduct.”
The U.S. Attorney’s office revealed that from May 2016 onward, Onyema and Eghagha allegedly utilized a series of export letters of credit to transfer over $20 million into accounts in Atlanta controlled by Onyema. These funds were supposedly intended for the purchase of five Boeing 737 passenger planes for Air Peace.
However, investigations found that the documents supporting these transactions—including purchase agreements, bills of sale, and appraisals—were allegedly fabricated. The aircraft were said to be acquired from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, a Georgia-registered business owned by Onyema. Yet, it was discovered that Springfield Aviation had never owned the aircraft and that its manager had no connections to the aviation industry.
