A US court has issued a warrant to arrest Allen Onyema, the chief executive officer of Air Peace, over fraud allegation.
According to Premium Times, the warrant was signed on November 19 by Justin Anand, a US magistrate in the district court of the northern district of Georgia.
The warrant, the newspaper said, authorised US Marshals Service to bring Onyema into custody.
In a statement issued by the district attorney’s office on Friday, Onyema was accused of moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through US bank accounts in a scheme involving “false documents” based on the purchase of airplanes.
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He was indicted alongside Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s chief of administration and finance, who is said to have committed aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.
“Onyema allegedly leveraged his status as a prominent business leader and airline executive while using falsified documents to commit fraud,” Byung J, US attorney of the district, was quoted to have said.
Onyema, however, had denied the allegation, describing the allegation as unfounded and strange.
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In a statement issued through his lawyers, on Saturday, the businessman said he is ready to clear his name.
If followed up with Nigerian authorities, Onyema might be extradited to the US to face the law.
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