₦airaland Forum

ziddy:
Sounds like some useless politician donated state funds to Onyema's 'Ethnic Peace Blahblahblah' foundation account for laundering & onward transmission to the US.

We are about to find out which of our political bandits partnered with Onyema in this Air Peace business....about time

I still dont undersrand why people keep passing dirty funds through USA, they will always prosecute.. They flag transactions of $10,000+ and also flag suspicious wires..

When they flag it, someone actually looks into it.. usually the IRS, hence why the IRS was mentioned as assisting in the investigation..

Stop moving dirty money through USA my people... Sooner or later they will find you..

Sanchez01:
It doesn't work that way o. This is a fraud case and if his extradition is sought from the Nigerian government and it is not honoured, it might dampen the bilateral relationship between then two and further put Nigeria in trouble with the US government.

Eventually, the trick for him would be not to travel as he can be extradited mid air. We have seen this in play severally.

Exactly.. im glad someone understands what I said previously.. Will summarize again.

he has been indicted..

- He needs to appear in USA court voluntarily (where he will be arrested and arraigned, then can seek bail and start trial or plead guilty.

OR

- USA DOJ will seek extradition to USA, at which point the Nigeria government has to decide what to do.
- Extradite him and please USA, or don't extradite him..
- I dont recall one case where Nigeria refused to extradite someone to USA. No one man is worth USA-Nigeria relations.

tricksters:
I was patiently waiting to read what many of you pathetic Igbos will say n trust me you did not disappoint. Now, the USA is persecuting him because he is Igbo yeah ?!

Im an igbo guy, and Im not defending him at all. In fact i've explained fully how the dude has serious problems... so dont call us Igbos pathetic..

YungMillionaire:
Let me see if I understand the situation here.

Onyeama applied for (and got) 20 million dollar credit (to buy Boeing aircrafts) using fake documents aka FRAUD.

Then after he got the credit, he transferred 16 million into various accounts in US banks aka MONEY LAUNDERING

The other guy also used another person's signature on the fake documents without the person's permission aka IDENTITY THEFT.

Here are my questions:

1. Which bank gave him the 20 million dollar credit?

2. It appears the guy whose signature was fraudulently used works for Onyeama, so are we sure the guy did not know what Onyeama was using his signature for?

Maybe he did, but its not all relevant.. The problem is Onyeama has been indicted and he FORGED bank documents which is a major crime in USA.

I know many people dont agree with the indictment, but the simple truth is the USA has some of the strictest laws in the world.. If you dont want to deal with it then don't travel, live, or do business with any usa person or company. Simple..

Nukilia:
True... When the giant watchdog (Criminals) decides to deal with the smaller ones. The father of all criminals involved in oil theft are the Ames, but Oyeama should just step down right away in order to save the organization from complete collapse

Agree.. In saner climates, a DOJ indictment usually leads to immediate step down and hand over of the company to someone else. Thats the smart thing to do as well.

But trust Nigeria, they will probably publish a press release saying that this is a witch hunt, and its all a lie, and he was deceived by his bankers, etc, but THATS A MISTAKE.

All that will do is kill your chances of a good plea deal, plus the DOJ will use it against you during your sentencing hearing and ask the judge for a harsh sentence due to the fact you're denying it and showing no remorse.

Part of getting a good/reduced prison sentence in USA is showing remorse and apologizing.. I hope air peace ceo doesnt come out swinging againt the DOJ.. it will only hurt him.

cornoil:
Stop spewing rubbish, DEA or FBI are not EFCC

Agree.. People abeg this isnt tribal.. Those DOJ attorneys dont know or care about the difference between IGBO, YORUBA, HAUSA, DELTA, etc..

What they care about is the crime committed.. This isnt Nigeria..

Sleevia:
Let's wait and see what happens but I feel someone snitched on him.

very possible.. could be the bank involved as well, maybe someone noticed the fraud and reported it..

Either way someone most likely reported this to the DOJ and they started looking into it.

The problem is that when you get indicted it means thousands of hours of work, and likely years have gone into your investigation..

Thats why EFCC cant win a case.. They will get a report and in 2 days go and arrest the guy . LOL.

in USA, they will get same report, and can spend years building up a tight case before going for the indictment.. Thats why they always win their cases.

tammie24:
forget that competition bullsh!t

You people have come again with this jealous-of-us rubbish

Air piece can't be a threat to any American airline

These are still charges though

LOL exactly.. air peace doesnt even rank as a top 100 airline in the world by number of fleet.. Why would USA care about them?

I just checked, they dont even rank top 5 inside africa( Royal air maroc, ethiopian, kenyan, south african, egypt, etc are all bigger)

USA doesnt care about a tiny small airline..

philip0906:
Chai...

My Igbo people make una stop this nonsense. We act like we're been hunted...no one is hunting us.

This is the DOJ, America not some propaganda crime fighters/hunters.

Onyeama has zero value to the Americans, to be considered a threat over anything.

They're simply charging him for a crime commited on their shores, just like they would charge anyone else.

exactly what ive been saying since.. thanks bro

voltron14:
He should provide his address in an anonymous forum?

maybe he wants to send a gift to the family house

Nukilia:
Just like what's happening to China.

lol air peace doesnt even have one single flight to USA.. they also patronize boeing (USA COMPANY)

It has nothing to do with USA fighting Nigeria.. It has to do with a man breaking the strict USA laws and facing the consequences.. Simple..

NationalHero:
Enemies at work.
He opened LCs to purchase his planes through US based banks. Deal was concluded. You wake up to say that documents submitted were forged. How can this be?
There are standard documentary requirements for international trade dealings. Both banks, Nigerian and US banks cannot afford to collect fake documents to open LCs.
This is a distraction from his enemies.
Nobody imports aeroplanes with fake documents. Moreover, and strangely, the investigation never mentioned the US company that is selling the aircrafts.
The matter is yet to go for trial and you are already in the press falsely accusing him of fraud and money laundering. We know where you are coming from, try other tricks.

This is a single story.

I suggest you go to DOJ ATLANTA website and read the charges.. That will help you a bit..

PDPGuy:
The only people/entities that beat a DOJ indictment, from my memory, are the late Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Enron. In both cases the federal appeals court and the US Supreme Court quashed their convictions from the lower Federal District courts

exactly my point. lol DOJ indicts thousands every month and only a few get away.. thats the point i was making about the damn near 100% success rate..

Just for fun i checked, Senetator Ted Stevens (In February 2009, FBI agent Chad Joy filed a whistleblower affidavit, alleging that prosecutors and FBI agents conspired to withhold and conceal evidence that could have resulted in a verdict of "not guilty."

So he got away cuz FBI messed up..

Enron owner (On May 25, 2006, Lay was found guilty on six counts of conspiracy and fraud by the jury) - He died before he got to go to jail

philip0906:
You should never give ANYONE your address.

Your posts are intelligent, logical, well thought out and succinct. You have nothing to prove to anyone or try to convince anyone. Everyone has an opinion and should simply stick to whatever opinion is fine by them.

Anyone who has issues with your posts, can simply go to hell.

lol thanks bro.. This is a forum where people should share and gain knowledge.. I read a lot of threads I know nothing about and try to learn.. I dont speak on those threads..

But in this case I actually know quite a bit and i'm just trying to explain and shed some light so people can understand what's going on since the USA justice system is very different from Nija EFCC nonsense..

sonnie10:
Onyema is a big lawyer in Nigeria but it seems he is not exposed. For him to have used a fake appraisal company for documentation is plain stupid.
Not in this period when Boeing issues has put the aviation industry under the radar.
If his airline company which is in the US is going to get delivery of any plane, the regulatory authorities must know who is appraising and certifying those planes.
In this case, the appraisal company is a ghost company, which is a big red flag. Under whose watch do think that such an impending doom would slip.
The point is that he was careless in all his dealings. Looks like he didn’t seek real professionals to do his business or he was trying to be cheap. Big lesson.

Agree with the point about carelessness.. If I owned a major airline in Nigeria, and i was moving around $20-40M through USA banks, trust me, I'd bring out $1m and have a team of USA corporate lawyers and tax attorneys to make sure everything is legal and done correctly.

PDPGuy:
Succinctly said. But Air Peace could be in legal jeopardy if the EFCC proves that criminal proceeds form part of its cash reserves

We know as EFCC be.. Connections work in Nigeria.. He can make a few calls and EFCC will drop it.. Doesn't work that way in USA.

LegendHero:
Why do you need to give anyone your USA address?
Do you have any reason to prove to anybody you’re in USA ? If they can decide you’re here from your write up then the person should go to hades if he need any proof!

lol some people are difficult to please! I agree.. Anyone that reads what I wrote in this thread should know I have a lot of ties to USA and i know what im talking about..

LordKO:
Before you quote me again, tell me your US address. Everyone is trying so hard to sound woke. SMH.

LOL.. i dont want to publish here.. send me a PM ill send it to you.. no worries..

LordKO:
No sane international business person/organization will make a big deal out of this news until a court of competent jurisdiction pronounced Dr. Allen guilty. But I trust you all numskulls to be revelling on this news and its ilk, of course with usual name-dropping. Envious and mentally parochial lots.

SPV account set-up like this isn't your conventional fraud scheme - bending the law is different from breaking the law. Almost every established person/organization directly or indirectly has a SPV set-up like this, but with different structural composition. It's almost impossible to be an international player without one, either directly or otherwise.

I don't hold brief for Dr. Allen.

Umm many of you dont know what a USA criminal indictment means.. It means the attorneys presented the evidence and got a grand jury to indict.. Which leaves you only two options:

1 . Plead guilty for lesser jail time (based on # of charges facing he will get jail time)

2. Go to trial and most likely lose. before they indict you they have all the evidence they need. hence why the DOJ has a near perfect conviction rate.. This is USA DOJ not EFCC

"indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit credit application fraud, and three counts of credit application fraud."

Show me one person who has been indicted by DOJ for similar charges that didn't go to prison.

12inchess:
I've lived in U.S for quite a while. And I can say I know the behavior of Americans quite well. I don't see any fraud here. Is it not the same U.S that attacked Iraq without any evidence even up till date. If it was Donald Trump or Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos caught doing this they won't call it fraud. The elites in America have been using charities, foundations and trusts to commit financial crimes and evade tax since the times of Henry Ford. All I see is a man who has sufficiently outsmarted the system until now. In America they call this type of people "investor,business magnate cum Philanthropist just like Bill Gates of Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Foundation fame. Isn't it this same man that took his private planes to save Nigerians from Xenophobia in South Africa. Abeg FBI, CIA talk another story.

its not "what you see". its what to DOJ sees. It's what the jury will see when DOJ presents those fake invoices, LCs, to them.. Thats the problem.

If you lived in USA for a while you should know by now that once the DOJ indicts someone they almost always convict. Read the report, what he did was a crime.. Whether its a crime in Nigeria or Pluto is irrelevant.. The money moved through USA banks and LYING on documents is called a crime..

Im sure when you lived in USA you enjoyed the ease of credit cards, car loans, mortgages.. Why do you think that is so? Precisely for this reason..

Here's an example of someone I know who got few years in prison.. Lets say example He had a business making lets says $100,000 selling t shirts.. he went and got fake invoices for orders totalling $1mil, then he ran to his bank and collected $500,000 loan to buy new equipment using those invoices... Its called bank fraud and the USA will always prosecute..

Its the same way tens of thousands are in prisons in USA for insurance fraud (faking car accident, etc).. Its the reason you can destroy your car, make a call to your company, and you get paid basically in a few days... Everyone trusts the system, including the banks and companies it protects, and they trust the system because the govt actively prosecutes those who try to defraud it

franchasng:
You don't know anything about Dangote's beginning days.


You only know about Dangote now that he is a billionaire. How did he get to that level


Dangote did a lot of $ round tripping fraud and tax evasion when he was still coming up. Stop looking at him now that he has grown so big, look at when and how he started those are my points of reference.

Its possible Dangote round tripped or got cheaper dollars and made money from the difference.. However, it is all SPECULATION unfortunately.. Its just hear-say and nobody has actual evidence he did it. You may be very well correct, but its irrelevant as no country or entity has indicted Dangote for round tripping and tax evasion, so for all legal intent and purposes he has not broken any laws.

franchasng:
Not all criminals get prosecuted and jailed in US, some get away with their crime, especially white criminals, you can take this bank

Oh I 100% agree. There are tens of thousands of fraudsters and drug dealers living free.

Thats not the point, the point is HE HAS NOW BEEN INDICTED for a fraud which means they have enough evidence to nail him.

You have a better chance of beating a murder charge as a good lawyer will try to object the evidence, etc, but for white collar crimes/fraud theres no way.

The evidence, bank statements, fake LC, fake company docs, are all there.

And a jury of your PEER is all that is needed to convict you, and its pretty easy for the prosecuting attorneys to convince them, hence why their conviction rate is damn near perfect..

voltron14:
Which International destination?

Why couldn't they oppress Turkish Air?

exactly.. This isnt tribal or anti Nigeria. Dude committed a crime and he has been indicted for it. The DOJ attorneys who investigated and indicted him dont give a crap about Igbo, Air peace, Nigeria, etc..

All they did was their job. See a crime, indict and prosecute.

Remember there are tens of thousands of lawyers working for DOJ, FBI, IRS, DEA, etc, whose sole JOB IS PROSECUTE CRIMES they see or crimes people, banks, companies report to them.

The only time the DOJ wont indict someone is maybe money involved is too small or they feel like they have a weak case. Apart from that they will always prosecute the case and indict the people/companies involved.

franchasng:
Not true. Did you or have you heard how many grave criminal accusations against President Donald Trump before he became US President


He did tax fraud, used illegal migrants as workers without paying tax, he obtained loan using false documents, and lots more, yet he is the US President today with even many more accusation.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nathanyahu just got indicted in fraud yesterday.


So leave matter

Trump may have done shady things, but shady doesnt mean illegal.. Trust me.. Show me his tax fraud? Also there are tons of illegal migrants working and USA does not actively prosecute business owners as they can just claim they didnt know.

There is a big difference between being shady and committing a crime.. Its called having smart lawyers, and trump has plenty of those..

if he outright committed an indictable crime he would be in prison long before he had a chance to be USA president.

Problem now is he is the president, and there is no protocol for indicting a sitting president! Only impeachment is possible.

onegig:
The report or whatever looks a lot light and not credible.

Except they are not stating facts or have other information they are withholding m The DEA doesn't fuc..kk around but this is nothing jare.Feels like a report arranged by a 12 year old.

Nothing solid was stated in this report abeggi. No actual dates, no specific months in those years. No bank names, nothing concrete except the fact that he moved money from an account he owned to another aviation company that was fronting for him.

Go read the indictment bro.. what are you talking about.


"Beginning in approximately May 2016, Onyema, together with Eghagha, allegedly used a series of export letters of credit to cause banks to transfer more than $20 million into Atlanta-based bank accounts controlled by Onyema. The letters of credit were purportedly to fund the purchase of five separate Boeing 737 passenger planes by Air Peace. The letters were supported by documents such as purchase agreements, bills of sale, and appraisals proving that Air Peace was purchasing the aircraft from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, a business registered in Georgia.

However, the supporting documents were fake — Springfield Aviation Company LLC, which is owned by Onyema and managed by a person with no connection to the aviation business, never owned the aircraft, and the company that allegedly drafted the appraisals did not exist. Eghagha allegedly participated in this scheme as well, directing the Springfield Aviation manager to sign and send false documents to banks and even using the manager’s identity to further the fraud. After Onyema received the money in the United States, he allegedly laundered over $16 million of the proceeds of the fraud by transferring it to other accounts."

I dont know about Nigeria, but in USA he committed a crime, and they will get a conviction. They have enough evidence trust me.. This is the DOJ not EFCC

Siberry:
Not every country yields to them though...what about Russia?

Yup.. One of the only countries i see not extraditing its citizens. LOL but onyeama isnt a russian?

But my point is valid, Countries yield to USA. Even EFCC is sending its citizens indicted by FBI to USA to serve prison sentences.

But basically Canada, Mexico, Australia, all of europe basically, will bend over to the USA. Thats 95% of the world.

philip0906:
Your explanation was succinct! One of the best breakdowns in this thread.

I'm Igbo too and I feel sad reading this. It begins to make you wonder, how many truly legit business men do we have out there? I work in FinTech - IMTO, and can tell you that sending money out of Nigeria to any country in the world, as long as that money is routed through USA banks and source of funds is Nigeria, you are immediately on the radar of authorities.

yup.. 100%. sadly enough all USD wires through SWIFT system have to go to NYC for clearing. So USA knows and has record of every single USD denominated wire sent in the world.. Crazy stuff.

Unless you want to start wiring YEN and EURO but world business is done in USD.

gnykelly:
in the event he is being charged and forfeiture made...what will become of the airline... cos is a source of employment to people back home

Honestly from what i think and read(read the whole indictment), AIR PEACE as company is not being indicted.. Any issues air peace may have will be from EFCC, etc who will want to know where funds came from..

But USA GOVT doesnt care about his airline. All the DOJ attorneys did was see a man named Onyeama who committed a crime in their country, and they indicted him for those crimes.. simple... only problem is USA DOJ is arguably the best prosecution arm in the WORLD.

Ive seen them get convictions of people who LIVE ABROAD and commit crimes ABROAD, and yet somehow they come to USA to face prison time. USA I hail..

philip0906:
I can see from your username and your posts how you've vociferously defended Onyeama...

You need to slow your roll! It's not about anyone attacking Igbos. Thank God this is not EFCC, else some Neanderthals would have said, Buhari is hunting Igbo business men.

This is DOJ, America...They don't joke, they don't do propaganda, when they get you indicted, they take you to the cleaners...and you can take it to the bank, Onyeama is 99.9% guilty of the charges. This is simply using the DOJ's hit rate.

What we should be worried about is why did Onyeama have to go that route? Why? Does this mean a good number of Nigerian business men can't do clean deals and transactions? This news about Onyeama, ruined my morning.

I feel completely sad reading this...I don't know Onyeama personally, but this is just too sad.

Thanks bro for explaining what ive been saying.. Im sad as well, im an igbo guy and this hurts.. I was just trying to clear the air and explain what is going on because i spent my whole life in USA and have been a part of the system and know how it works well..

gnykelly:
I think the way he moved the money is the problem not the source... a good lawyer can clear him out.

nope.. you dont want to fight the DOJ in court. If you lose they will hammer you down with that 20 years in prison..

If i remember correctly from my Business LAW class in USA, DOJ has a conviction rate of damn near almost 100%

Before they indict you, they have to present the documents to a grand jury who agree that a crime has been committed.. he would not have been indicted if they thought he could escape from it.. The evidence is there, he committed a crime.

Once again let me explain, the DOJ doesnt care about the source of the money, they care about the bank fraud charges (lying on bank documents through USA banks. thats a cirme. simple..)

Not to mention IRS, Home land security, etc were part of the investigation.. This is an investigation that took thousands of hours and many years to conclude. They're looking for a conviction and thats it.

franchasng:
Yeah you are right, but I came in to make people understand that the crime being alleged here is not that Onyema stole money from US like many would think ignorantly

People are stupid or cant read.. He did not steal any money from USA. USA govt is basically nailing him on lying on LC documents..

They dont care if the money came from his mother in Nigeria.. What they care about is he formed a fake company, sent fake invoices, sent fake LC letters, and moved those funds through USA > Bank fraud with prison time


This is a criminal indictment for bank fraud/money laundering. He will not get option of fine without jail time. I dont recall one case in USA where someone was indicted by DOJ for same charges and didnt get jail time..

This isnt a civil case, its a CRIMINAL INDICTMENT. (IF he was in the USA, or in another country, he would be under arrest right now.)

franchasng:
He can enter plea bargain and settle out of court by paying fine.


Tinubu did same and forfeited his criminal money, remember

tinubu case was very different.. .He was not indicted at all. I searched records and there was NO CRIMINAL INDICTMENT FROM DOJ for Tinubu. He was named in an investigation and he agreed to forfeit money. The fact he wasnt indicted means he wasnt the target or big enough fish for them..


There is nothing like "SETTLE OUT OF COURT in a DOJ INDICTMENT"

Everything including plea bargain has to be in court.. Plus plea bargain doesnt mean you get no jail time, it just means reduced time.

Currently from my math if he goes to trial he's facing 30+ years on the charges.. So a prosecutor who wants to be nice and friendly will most likely offer him maybe 2-3 years prison.. (this is being generous).