Canada Declares Air Peace CEO Allen Oyeama Wanted For Alleged Fraud In The US

A magistrate court in the U.S has issued a corresponding warrant of arrest for Messrs Onyema and Eghagha in Canada..

Canadian authorities have commenced efforts to execute a corresponding arrest warrant issued for a Nigerian businessman accused of fraud in the United States.

Allen Onyema, chairman of Air Peace Limited in Nigeria, is facing multiple charges of money laundering and bank fraud in excess of $20 million. A United States grand jury recently indicted Mr Onyema and Ejiroghene Eghagha, Air Peace’s head of finance and administration.

Both suspects denied the allegations in a statement Saturday and indicated their determination to fight the charges in court.

Although Messrs Onyema and Eghagha are currently believed to be in Nigeria, judges in the U.S. have been issuing warrants for their arrest, according to court filings seen by PREMIUM TIMES

On September 5, Russell Vineyard, a magistrate at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, issued a corresponding warrant of arrest for Messrs Onyema and Eghagha in Canada.

American prosecutors had sought the warrant to enable Canadian law enforcement authorities take the suspects into custody if sighted in their jurisdiction.

As part of a longstanding tradition on cross-border crimes, American authorities have briefed their Canadian counterparts about their case against the two Nigerians, documents said.

Similarly, on November 19, Justin Anand, a magistrate at the same district, issued a separate warrant against Messrs Onyema and Eghagha for their arrest in the United States, especially by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Although the major aspects of the alleged fraud were committed in the U.S., some of the bank accounts used in some of the suspicious transactions were domiciled in Canada.

Meanwhile, the United States authorities have frozen about $14.2 million in bank accounts linked to companies registered by Allen Onyema, it is learnt.