Operations at Air Peace, one of the country’s largest domestic
airlines, have continued unperturbed despite money laundering charges
levelled against Allen Onyeama, its chief executive officer.
In a statement issued on Friday by the northern district of Georgia’s
attorney’s office, Onyeama had been charged with bank fraud and money
laundering for “moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through
United States bank accounts in a scheme involving false documents
based on the purchase of aeroplanes”.
“Onyema allegedly leveraged his status as a prominent business leader
and airline executive while using falsified documents to commit
fraud,” US Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak had said.
The Nigerian businessman has since denied the allegation, saying he is
ready to clear his name
Checks by online medium, The Cable on Tuesday showed that the airline
maintained its regular activities, separating its CEO’s travails from
the business.
Apart from flight delays, a common phenomenon in Nigeria’s aviation
industry, Air Peace continued operations and some flights on some of
its popular routes, including Lagos to Abuja, were sold out.
“The incident has not affected their operations although people are
careful not to mention it,” a member of staff at the domestic airport
told the medium.
On Tuesday, a lawyer filed a suit at the federal high court in Abuja
to stop Onyeama’s extradition the US.
In 2014, some ex-militants had alleged that Onyeama set up the airline
using funds earmarked for the federal government’s amnesty programme.
