Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were welcomed to Nigeria last week by a fugitive who was federally indicted in the United States for allegedly masterminding a $20 million money laundering and bank fraud scheme, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The CEO and Chairman of Air Peace, Dr. Allen Onyema, whose airline was taken by members of the royal family for their flight from the national capital Abuja to the largest city Lagos on May 12, was a member key member of the welcoming committee who met the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they touched down on the tarmac as part of their three-day tour of Nigeria.
Dressed in navy blue and wearing sunglasses and a red kufi hat, Onyema was part of a small group of dignitaries, which included senior military and government officials, pictured alongside the Sussexes as they stepped off their Air plane Peace.
Founded by Onyema just over a decade ago, Air Peace serves the world and is the largest airline in West Africa.
Today, DailyMail.com has exclusively learned that the 59-year-old businessman is a wanted man in the United States, facing multiple charges related to millions of dollars of alleged fraud, outlined in an indictment federal indictment filed in November 2019.
Air Peace CEO Dr Allen Onyema was a key member of Harry and Meghan’s welcoming committee when they landed in Nigeria last week. He is pictured chatting with the Duchess
Dressed in navy blue and wearing sunglasses and a red kufi hat, Onyema was part of a small group of dignitaries, which included senior military and government officials, pictured alongside the Sussexes as they stepped off their Air plane Peace.
The indictment, obtained by DailyMail.com, accuses Onyema of allegedly “using his status as a prominent business executive and airline executive to launder more than $20 million from Nigeria through accounts American banks.
There is no suggestion that Harry or Meghan knew about Onyema’s story before meeting him.
DailyMail.com also understands the couple had planned to use another airline, but plans were changed at the last minute.
The charges were filed by former U.S. Attorney Byung J ‘BJay’ Pak, who has since left office. The case is now being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Ryan Buchanan, who took office in 2022.
Speaking at the time of filing, Pak said of the man who hosted the Sussexes on their “private” tour of his country, “Onyema allegedly exploited his status as a prominent business leader and executive airline while using falsified documents to commit fraud.
Robert Murphy, agent in charge of the DEA’s Atlanta field division, added: “Allan Onyema’s status as a wealthy businessman was proven to be a fraud. He corrupted the American banking system, but his series of deceptions and deceptions stopped in their tracks.
The indictment goes on to allege that Onyema arranged various “seemingly innocent, multimillion-dollar asset purchases that were nothing more than purported fronts for his scam.”
It says Onyema is the founder and chairman of several organizations across Nigeria, including the Ethnic Harmony Foundation, the International Center for Non-Violence and Peace Development and All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited.
DailyMail.com has exclusively learned that the 59-year-old businessman is wanted in the United States for bank fraud.
Between 2010 and 2018, more than $44.9 million was allegedly transferred from foreign sources to Onyema’s Atlanta-based accounts.
There is no suggestion that Harry or Meghan knew about Onyema’s story before meeting him. Meghan is pictured greeted by Onyema
Starting in 2010, he began traveling frequently to Atlanta where he opened several personal and business bank accounts.
Between 2010 and 2018, more than $44.9 million was allegedly transferred from foreign sources to his Atlanta-based accounts.
Onyema founded Air Peace in 2013 and, according to the indictment, traveled to the United States in subsequent years and purchased several planes.
Onyema is accused of using his status as a prominent business executive to launder more than $20 million from Nigeria through U.S. bank accounts.
However, the Justice Department claims that more than $3 million of the funds used to purchase the plane “came from bank accounts of the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, the International Center for Nonviolence and the Development of peace, from All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited”. and Every Child Limited.
Air Peace’s head of administration and finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, was also charged along with Onyema.
Both men were charged with 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 separate counts of money laundering, while Eghagha was charged with aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.
Investigators allege that, starting around May 2016, the two men used a series of export letters of credit to trick banks into transferring more than $20 million to Atlanta-based bank accounts controlled by Onyema . The letters of credit were supposed to finance the purchase of five Boeing 737 airliners 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 company registered in Georgia. But, according to investigators, the supporting documents were false.
Springfield Aviation Company LLC, which is owned by Onyema and run by an individual with no ties to the aviation industry, never owned the plane and the company that allegedly wrote the reviews did not exist.
In October 2022, U.S. citizen Ebony Mayfield, a former Springfield Aviation Company staffer, was sentenced to three years of probation and fined $4,000 for her role in the alleged scheme after charges were filed against her by the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
The charges against Onyema and Eghagha remain pending, with both men maintaining their innocence.
Neither man responded to calls and emails to Air Peace offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
dailymail us
