₦airaland Forum

No be this man released his airplane to rescue Nigerians from xenophobic attacks in South Africa? America why naa

ODVanguard:
You will be shocked when you hear about how many more 'prominent' Nigerians hiding under various occupations are involved in this money laundering 'business' for some VIPs. From a very reliable source, heard the likes of toke makinwa, Linda ikeji, and many other celebs (most especially the 'very successful' ones) are involved, using blogging, oap, etc as fronts, una no even sabi wetin dey happen. If I begin mention names, kasala go burst.

Toke makinwa get Money.. maybe Linda Ikeji yeah but Toke nah. She's just a broke wannabe

Truth234:
This is my last response to you, from US Department of Justice. 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," the DOJ stated.

Letter of credit should be from a bank to another, usually international. Onyema received the said $20 million in his bank account and quickly moved $16 million. It is fraud, DOJ is no job.

You still don't get the whole story lol



Onyema sent the $20million from his Nigerian NGOs bank account to his registered company US bank account in US, and for him to send such amount of money to the US, he must provide proof of business transaction so he used the story that he is buying aeroplanes from a US based aviation company; Springfield also owned by him.


On receiving the $20million in US bank account from Nigeria, he then moved $16million to other accounts which they see as money laundering since all the documents he used from inception are false.

Take it from me, he was doing all these things to avoid paying huge tax in Nigeria, that was why he moved the money from an NGO account to US.


He thought since its an NGO, nobody will care to investigate it.


The question is, who are the donors of the $20million in his Nigerian bank account which he wired to US This is the major question being asked.


But I still believe he owns the money through his real estate business. But maybe he was lookin got shortcut to bye pass tax

SalamRushdie:
s ... So they have been hiding under the guise of plane purchase to move looted money out of Nigeria .

Where in the report did you see this your assertion specifically ?

ChoCho54:
True but right now, the fraud they committed is not an explanation why they are buying new planes in this harsh economy, hence my initial qoute.

One thing is air peace growth isnt as fantastic as you think when you break it down.

Air peace does not own ONE brand new airplane YET.. They have a fleet of used 737 that can go as low as $5m, possibly cheaper.. meanwhile a brand new one is $90m

A world class airline, (Emirates, United, Qatar, Ethiopian, etc) would never buy a used airplane that is 20 years old... So thats why air peace can add planes like you change underwear.. One brand new 737 can probably buy you 10+ old ones..

johnmartus:
I read this news four times . Because am really shucks the question is this Nigerians which way.

At least, the money belongs to air peace. It was meant to be used in purchase of aircraft built by USA instead he bought aircrafts built by Canada. Onyema did not defraud any bank either home or abroad.

IGBOSON1:
NO....you STFU! You're a fraud...and a vile one at that! I don't regard your opinion on anything concerning Ndigbo as anything other than the jaundiced and bigoted stance of a impostor!

YES....i repeat, if it turns out that he's found guilty, then he has no one but himself to blame when bigots like Buhari, Hadi-Sirika and their goons in EFCC move in to take over his business! I don't need a clairvoyant to tell me Igbo haters have quietly been brimming with hate and envy at the height Air Peace has reached in the aviation industry, and if he as a Igbo man didn't know this then he's really dumb! You think Hadi-Sirika stubbornly insisting on floating a national carrier when many have suggested he use Air Peace instead is just a coincidence? It's to eat into Air Peaces' market and take over any concessions that's due to Nigeria he may be getting as the the largest airline in the country, and hand it over to the newly floated national carrier! Had it been a Dangote that owned Air Peace then Hadi-Sirika and Buhari will sleep easy and not think of a national carrier seeing as the natural order of things (Fulani at the top of the pecking order) hasn't been upset!

Don't you see posts on this thread of the usual Igbo haters? Have you accosted them on their stance as you're doing right now? Or maybe you're secretly laughing with them and praying to satan as they all are that Air Peace is taken over"

Guy quite being sentimental here. I'm Igbo too and this has got nothing to do with being Igbo. Onyema is a used of falsing documents to transfer funds for the purchase of some air buses. That's fraud in the eyes of the US Justice Department and he'll go down one way or another. It's just a pity his bank advisors didn't direct him right.

jlinkd78:
Still charges as at now. He is still innocent until proven otherwise by a competent court of law

Keep putting your head in the sand.
Is there an incompetent court of law anywhere?
Before the US Judicial system will release or file indictments, they have finished investigations and found him soiled. His investigation started in 2013.
You have also refused to see the charges saying he moved money out of Nigeria... Question is, who is the real owner of the money being moved out.
Which Politician?

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 ?!
But you hypocritical Igbos won't have said the same if it was Tinubu that was listed for fraud. Oh, since it is an Igbo we should not look at it from a tribal angle cos he don't do that ba ?
Many of you Igbos are so shamelessly pathetic to say the least, so because it is an Igbo business now it must not be allowed to fail ? Where he got the money he laundered is of no concern to you but if it is Tinubu bullion van his businesses must be killed ... wow.

You Igbos just never cease to amuse me. I wonder many at times if you lot read your responses btw happenings such as this n those from other tribes. I can imagine if it was Dangote that was indicted with such overwhelming evidences.


Is that how you look after Dangote n Tinubu businesses ? Igbo hypocrisy showcasing in 40D. That is not the case, he is a fraudster bigger than Tinubu 200 times over. Tinubu forfeited less than half a million dollars, my sister with what am reading in this article alone we are talking over 40 million dollars. See Igbos commenting, I don die. FBI is not being ridiculed below EFCC because an Igbo criminal is caught. but I see foolish Igbos castigated businessmen like Dangote, Tinubu n co as well all the time so paying you back with your own coin should make you sweat in you pant this much. You think only foolish Igbos own the monopoly to hating others ? You have no idea what you have brewed.

Thanks for reading mine but I only saw TINUBU
mind you I will support Tinubu 100%
I always support him

[quote author=wwwihy post=84281021]CEO of Nigerian airline indicted for bank fraud and money laundering
ATLANTA – Allen Ifechukwu Athan Onyema, the Chairman, CEO, and founder of Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, has 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 airplanes. The international airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, has also been charged with bank fraud and committing 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,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “We will diligently protect the integrity our banking system from being corrupted by criminals, even when they disguise themselves in a cloak of international business.”

Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division commented on the indictment, “Allen Onyema’s status as a wealthy businessman turned out to be a fraud. He corrupted the U.S. banking system, but his trail of deceit and trickery came to a skidding halt. DEA would like to thank the many law enforcement partners and the subsequent prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office who aided in making this investigation a success.”

“This case is a prime example of why IRS-CI seeks to partner and leverage its expertise in an effort to thwart those seeking to exploit our nation’s financial system,” said Thomas J. Holloman, IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office. “With the importance of our banking system to the movement of money around the world, those attempting to use intricate schemes to commit bank fraud through the use of falsified documents and other means should know that the odds are now heavily stacked against them as law enforcement is combining its talents to protect the sanctity and integrity of the nation’s financial system.”

“Onyema setup various innocent sounding multi-million dollar asset purchases which were nothing more than alleged fronts for his scam,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in Georgia and Alabama. “I’m proud to be part of a team of law enforcement agencies that come together to identify and attack criminals that attempt to profit from the exploitation of our nation’s financial systems.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the indictment, and other information presented in court: Onyema, a Nigerian citizen and businessman, is the founder and Chairman of several organizations that purport to promote peace across Nigeria, including the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Center for Non-Violence and Peace Development, and All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited.

Beginning in 2010, Onyema began travelling frequently to Atlanta, where he opened several personal and business bank accounts. Between 2010 and 2018, over $44.9 million was allegedly transferred into his Atlanta-based accounts from foreign sources.

Onyema is also the CEO and Chairman of Nigerian airline Air Peace, which he founded in 2013. In years following the founding of Air Peace, he traveled to the United States and purchased multiple airplanes for the airline. However, over $3 million of the funds used to purchase the aircraft allegedly came from bank accounts for Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Center for Non-Violence and Peace Development, All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited, and Every Child Limited.

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.

Allen Ifechukwu Athan Onyema, 56, of Lagos, Nigeria, and Ejiroghene Eghagha, 37, of Lagos, Nigeria, were indicted on November 19, 2019, 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. Additionally, Onyema was charged with 27 counts of money laundering, and Eghagha was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Commerce, and Department of Treasury are investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett L. Bradford, Deputy Chief of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section and Lead Strike Force Attorney, Irina K. Dutcher, and Christopher J. Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Office of International Affairs.

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The specific mission of the Atlanta Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug trafficking and money laundering organizations designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets or Regional Priority Organization Targets and their affiliates impacting the Atlanta metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/ceo-nigerian-airline-indicted-bank-fraud-and-money-laundering[/quote]This is pure case of business sabotage, not that he is entirely clean though!

franchasng:
You still don't get the whole story lol



Onyema sent the $20million from his Nigerian NGOs bank account to his registered company US bank account in US, and for him to send such amount of money to the US, he must provide proof of business transaction so he used the story that he is buying aeroplanes from a US based aviation company; Springfield also owned by him.


On receiving the $20million in US bank account from Nigeria, he then moved $16million to other accounts which they see as money laundering since all the documents he used from inception are false.

Take it from me, he was doing all these things to avoid paying huge tax in Nigeria, that was why he moved the money from an NGO account to US.


He thought since its an NGO, nobody will care to investigate it.


The question is, who are the donors of the $20million in his Nigerian bank account which he wired to US This is the major question being asked.


But I still believe he owns the money through his real estate business. But maybe he was lookin got shortcut to bye pass tax

Either way hes an idiot. How do you think you will get away making FAKE LC Documents for that kind of amount and routing the transfers through USA. Of course any wire of that amount coming from Nigeria to USA is obviously flagged due to the fraud/corruption rate here..

Sounds to me like they simply flagged this transaction and dug deeper and indicted him.. His wahala is plenty now

ChoCho54:
Franchasng should quit running around in circles. A simple age falsification has dire consequences in sane worlds talkless of money laundering.

I know he committed crime but not as big as the ones committed by Tinubu and even Buhari who forged his certificate to run for Presidency and yet people are defending him.

ALPHABASE:
I THINK HE SHOULD TAKE THE NEXT AVAILABLE FLIGHT TO USA. HE SHOULD LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

MEANWHILE WHEN IS TINUBU AND BURUJI KASHAM GOING TO VISIT THAT LOVELY COUNTRY

Your obsession of TBC has also beclowded you with ignorance. Try use Google and discover that Tinubu goes to USA.

franchasng:
Tinubu committed financial crime in the US and forfeited the money and ran back to Nigeria to hide, do you agree or not



Onyema didn't borrow money from any USA bank.


Do you know what Letter of Credit is


Or you need me to educate you more on that


Just last week, we raised an LC to a Chinese heavy duty manufacturing company in China for the procurement of some heavy duty equipment. So I know what LC is.


LC is not used to obtain loan.


How can Onyema, a Nigerian citizen obtain bank loan of that amount from a US bank without the necessary bank checks, do you think it is easy


The question people are even asking is, who are the donors to his NGOs in Nigeria? But I can tell you, he may have no donor but just using the NGOs to avoid heavy tax by Nigerian government.

Letter of Credit is a sort of loan but between the banks. It’s a short term debt really but between the Nigerian bank and US customer bank. Onyeama probably has US residency. He was able to set up a fake company in the US.

Americans are doing whatever they can to see that Nigeria doesn't survive since our relationship with China

Behind every great fortune there is a crime - ''The Godfather''

UrVillagePpl:
Toke makinwa get Money.. maybe Linda Ikeji yeah but Toke nah. She's just a broke wannabe

Yimu. Where Toke Makinwa see money buy (not rent o) house for Banana Island as radio OAP?? Guy, dis na confam yarn I give you, as in confam. Some of these chics are dating men, VIPs and fraudsters, who send them on exotic trips abroad to open bank accounts under fake identities for the purpose of money laundering and they get their cut afterward, and I don't mean small money, I mean hundreds of millions. I won't say more than that but you don't even know the half of it.

YungMillionaire:
Then why did he pretend that the money was for planes? Why did he prepare a fake export LC in which the exporter and importer are actually the same person (Onyema)? Why was Onyema's ATL company (the fake plane seller) manager's identity used fraudulently?

Nothing fake there bro. It’s like tinubu buying equipment from his sub or sons company instead of from the direct manufacturers. Like contracting it’s purchase. It’s done in the business world alot.

Almajiri1:
Airpeace have been building the muscle and putting the structures in place for that. This project started around 2010 like they rightly pointed out.

There's a short, mid and long term strategy in place for Airpeace. No dirt shall abort this mission. Even the free air lifting of Nigerians from South Africa was part of the strategy to deepen the brand into the emotional psyche of over 200 million strong population who love to travel the world.

I have reading this your comments.

So is that why he committed those frauds?

ALPHABASE:
I THINK HE SHOULD TAKE THE NEXT AVAILABLE FLIGHT TO USA. HE SHOULD LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

MEANWHILE WHEN IS TINUBU AND BURUJI KASHAM GOING TO VISIT THAT LOVELY COUNTRY

The Irokos don't leave Forest

Jeez...
What kind of news is this this early morning?

jaxxy:
Nothing fake there bro. It’s like tinubu buying equipment from his sub or sons company instead of from the direct manufacturers. Like contracting it’s purchase. It’s done in the business world alot.

If its contracting then the company would actually export the planes to Nigeria. But its not contracting. It is fraud. Because the 20 million flowed from Nigeria to US but the planes were never sent to Nigeria. Why because the company does NOT sell airplanes. Is that clear enough for you?

stormborn28:
Well... I'm patiently waiting for the outcome... He is still innocent

Bros, the innocence is just in theory. They are not giving this case publicity for nothing. Look at all the evidence stacked up against Mr Onyeama. Innocent ke, he is already on his way to jail. His only bet is to opt for plea bargain and get a bit of soft landing.

fkj950ax:
Keep putting your head in the sand.
Is there an incompetent court of law anywhere?
Before the US Judicial system will release or file indictments, they have finished investigations and found him soiled. His investigation started in 2013.
You have also refused to see the charges saying he moved money out of Nigeria... Question is, who is the real owner of the money being moved out.
Which Politician?

Number one suspect; Mama Peace Jonathan

franchasng:
You still don't get the whole story lol



Onyema sent the $20million from his Nigerian NGOs bank account to his registered company US bank account in US, and for him to send such amount of money to the US, he must provide proof of business transaction so he used the story that he is buying aeroplanes from a US based aviation company; Springfield also owned by him.


On receiving the $20million in US bank account from Nigeria, he then moved $16million to other accounts which they see as money laundering since all the documents he used from inception are false.

Take it from me, he was doing all these things to avoid paying huge tax in Nigeria, that was why he moved the money from an NGO account to US.


He thought since its an NGO, nobody will care to investigate it.


The question is, who are the donors of the $20million in his Nigerian bank account which he wired to US This is the major question being asked.


But I still believe he owns the money through his real estate business. But maybe he was lookin got shortcut to bye pass tax

Please stop na, this is what I do for a living and I just analysed the entire DoJ released document. He is charged with fraud and money laundering. You are emphasizing money laundering which was put at over $20 million between Nigeria and his non-existing US companies, NGOs. However, he orchestrated $20 million fraud received from US banks into his bank accounts, not transfer. His US manager is already talking, saying his name was fraudulently used to facilitate the fraud and he claimed he has no idea of the aviation industry. This is US DoJ, na wa o

voltron14:
Quit playing kiddo.

Your mental parochialism knows no bounds. The demand/request for his US address is metaphorical because I don't usually like to dialog with anyone who resides in 4 of the US states. An average dweller in any of the 4 states doesn't believe in infallibility of any US establishment, even when such happens almost every other day. His continual projection of DOJ as infallible is appalling to anyone in the know.

Now you can see why I said you and your ilk aren't discerning and extrapolative. You can now direct your further mentions to small-minded people like you.

the whole truth is that,
we can't be the receiver of stolen funds and still be the prosecutor..

when he was wiring the fund to them over there, they received it, I mean into their bank there.., use the money for biz, when they've made a lot of profit on the fund, they'll now be crying "money laundering" shit..

same happened to Abacha loots..
after the west have already used the money to enrich themselves through the profit made on the stolen funds in their banks, they now tagged Nigeria as a corrupt nation when in the light of the day, they're the biggest thieves...

but, let our looters always know it that, investing in your country with the stolen funds from your country is more better.. and using it to create more jobs evn despite its stolen is more better still, than starking it over there in those white robbers bank..

And falsifying documents to get the line of credit is not a crime ? The money laundered to the USA n disbursed from the US bank account is no crime. What you just explained below is called fraud, money laundering fraud.

That is the crime not the subtle way you are trying to put it. Since the money is gone from the account his only option is a jail term if convicted. If the money was still in the acct he could have rewuested some sort of plea bargain. Either way he is now a confirmed fraudster if convicted, that does his business image no good.

franchasng:
So US government issue with is, why forge a document that you own an aviation company that sell aeroplane in USA just to enable you transfer huge amount from your bank account in Nigeria to another account owned by you in US That is his crime

baby124:
Letter of Credit is a sort of loan but between the banks. It’s a short term debt really but between the Nigerian bank and US customer bank. Onyeama probably has US residency. He was able to set up a fake company in the US.

You know nothing about all these things.


I am not a US resident neither am I a US citizen but I have a fully registered LLC in the US.


Secondly, google LC or Letter of Credit. It is not for obtaining loan at all.



US government problem with him is why forge the aviation certification and clearance certificates with a US registered LLC that doesn't deal on aviation or aeroplane sales or manufacture. How did you get the certificates and clearance documents you sent to the Nigerian bank that enabled them raise the LC to allow the trade and money transfer to happen


Why would you send money from an NGO bank account owned by you in a country on fraud watchlist to a US registered company bank account owned by same you


Those are his crimes not loan. No loan was given, just document forgery and fraudulent intent

ProtectMyMoney:
And in your own summations that is not fraud?

Example....So, when someone uses false documents to sell land that is not existing to you and you send him money, it is not fraud?

Some people on Nairaland are dumb. You should understand that by now

franchasng:
I know he committed crime but not as big as the ones committed by Tinubu and even Buhari who forged his certificate to run for Presidency and yet people are defending him.

Yes we know. But right now, Onyema is the one in the eye of the storm and I'm so pained! Alfa beta had tax issues but the matter was killed as soon as it emerged! But who will kill this one now?

There's dirt down the tunnel of riches.

The NASS was saying the other day that Nigerians are under-taxed, what came to my mind was "na the big men nau" .

Why do I have a feeling patience Jonathan is behind this man company.