They are mere allegations that’d be cleared  – Air Peace

A statement by the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia has confirmed the indictment of Allen Onyema, Chief executive officer of Nigeria’s largest airline, Air Peace for obstruction of justice in his long-standing money laundering case.

The Statement:

Press Release

CEO of Nigerian Airline and Co-Defendant Indicted for Obstruction of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA – Allen Onyema, the Chairman, CEO, and founder of Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, has been charged in a superseding indictment with obstruction of justice for submitting false documents to the government in an effort to end an investigation of him that resulted in earlier charges of bank fraud and money laundering. Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s Chief of Administration and Finance, was also charged for participating in the obstruction scheme, as well as in the earlier bank fraud counts.

“After allegedly using his airline company as a cover to commit fraud on the United States’ banking system, Onyema, along with his co-defendant, allegedly committed additional crimes of fraud in a failed attempt to derail the government’s investigation of his conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “The diligence of our federal investigative partners revealed the defendants’ alleged obstruction scheme, making it possible for the defendants to be held accountable for their aggravated conduct of attempting to impede a federal investigation.”

“These cases represent the continued commitment of the Drug Enforcement Administration to identify and hold accountable those who engaged in fraud and money laundering,” said Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division.

“Allegedly, Onyema and his accomplices fraudulently used the U.S. banking system in an effort to hide the source of their ill-gotten money,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Lisa Fontanette, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Atlanta Field Office. “Today’s superseding indictment is indicative of the dedication IRS-CI special agents and our law enforcement partners have, as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, to neutralize threats to the United States from criminal organizations.”

“The charges announced today demonstrate the criticality of diligence and truth in criminal justice proceedings,” said Steven N. Schrank, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta that covers Georgia and Alabama. “HSI and our partners are committed to pursuing those who seek to exploit our nation’s financial system and any efforts to cover up illegal activity.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the superseding indictment, and other information presented in court: Onyema, a Nigerian citizen and businessman, is the CEO and Chairman of Air Peace, a Nigerian airline founded in 2013. Between 2010 and 2018, Onyema travelled frequently to Atlanta, where he opened several personal and business bank accounts. More than $44.9 million was allegedly transferred into his Atlanta-based accounts from foreign sources.

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 and were supported by documents such as purchase agreements, bills of sale, and appraisals. The documents purported to show that Air Peace was purchasing the aircraft from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, a business registered in Georgia.

However, the supporting documents were allegedly fake – Springfield Aviation Company LLC was owned by Onyema and managed on his behalf by a person with no connection to the aviation business, and Springfield Aviation never owned the aircraft. 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.

In May 2019, upon discovering that he was under investigation in the Northern District of Georgia for bank fraud, Onyema and Eghagha allegedly directed the Springfield Aviation manager to sign a key business contract, but also specifically told her to not date the document. In October 2019, Onyema allegedly caused his attorneys to present that same contract, now falsely dated as being signed on May 5, 2016 (prior to the bank fraud that began in 2016), to the government in an effort to stop the investigation and unfreeze his bank accounts.

Allen Ifechukwu Athan Onyema, 61, of Lagos, Nigeria, and Ejiroghene Eghagha, 42, 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. On October 8, 2024, they were both charged in a superseding indictment alleging an additional count of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The case is criminal action number 1:19-CR-464.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictments only contain charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ 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 and Christopher J. Huber are prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

By Ojone Grace Odaudu

A Turkish Airlines pilot has died after becoming ill on his own flight from Seattle on the north-west coast of the United States to Istanbul in Turkey.

Captain Ilcehin Pehlivan, 59, collapsed mid-air and a second pilot and co-pilot took over the controls, an airline spokesman said on X.

“When first aid to our captain on the plane was unsuccessful, the cockpit crew… decided to make an emergency landing, but he died before landing,” Yahya Ustun explained.

The Airbus A350 plane landed in New York and plans were then made to fly the passengers on to Turkey from there, he added.

Flight TK204 took off from Seattle shortly after 19:00 Pacific Time on Tuesday evening. The pilot appears to have got into trouble over the Canadian territory of Nunavut, before his colleagues took over and headed for John F Kennedy airport.

The plane landed in New York about eight hours after leaving Seattle.

Mr Pehlivan had flown with Turkish Airlines since 2007 and had been given a regular health check in early March, which found no health problem that might affect his job, the airline said.

Turkey’s air traffic controllers’ association, TATCA, said he had served the aviation community for many years and offered its condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

The cause of the pilot’s death has not been released. Pilots have to undergo medical exams every 12 months, while those aged over 40 have to renew their medical certificates every six months.

In 2015, an American Airlines pilot aged 57 collapsed and died during an overnight flight from Phoenix to Boston.

The first officer took over and made an emergency landing in Syracuse.

At the moment, two pilots are required to be in the cockpit of a large commercial plane at all times.

However, the EU’s aviation safety agency says technology is being developed to enable a single pilot to operate large passenger planes during the cruise phase of a flight. Such a move would allow other members of the cockpit to rest, although the agency stressed there needed to be measures to ensure safety and to respond to crew becoming “incapacitated”.

The European Cockpit Association and other pilots’ groups have joined forces to challenge the initiative, arguing that reducing the crew at any time would gamble with safety on board.

(BBC)

By James Aduku

The African aviation community is in mourning, following the death of the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of African Aviation Services, Nick Fadugba on Saturday week.

The death of the aviation impresario who has been variously described as gentle, humble, highly professional and public-spirited, was announced by African Aviation Services.

“It is with great sadness we announce that Nick Fadugba, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of African Aviation, recently died. The entire African Aviation family mourns his loss. On behalf of the whole Team, we extend our deepest sympathies to Nick’s family”.

Nick Fadugba established African Aviation Services (AAS) in 1990 with the pan-African vision of promoting aviation development throughout Africa. He believed that aviation could be a vital catalyst for Africa’s economic and social transformation. Since 1988, he provided a wide range of consultancy and advisory services to international aviation, finance and leasing organisations and to African Governments. He was also instrumental in fostering business relations between Africa and the international aviation community in critical areas such as Aviation Finance, Aircraft Leasing, Aircraft Maintenance, Air Safety and Aviation Training.

Nick had unique experience in aviation finance and aircraft leasing negotiation, arbitration and dispute resolution in Africa. Other areas of speciality included developing airline business plans; fleet planning; aircraft leasing and finance advisory services; airline route network development; market information research and analysis; reconciliation of aircraft leasing / finance accounts and debt recovery; negotiating acquisition of airport slots and air traffic rights; and establishing London Heathrow Airport operations for foreign airlines.

He was appointed an Interim Non-Executive Director to the Board of South African Airways on 9th December, 2020, and acted as Chairperson of SAA Technical until April, 2023. He was elected Chairman of the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) in May, 2018, handing over the Chairmanship last year. He was a former elected Secretary General of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA); a Launch Member of the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) and Vice Chairman of its Safety and Training Committee; was Chief Advisor to the Association of African Aviation Training Organisations (AATO); a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAes), UK; a member of the Aviation Club of the UK; a member of the German Aviation Research Society (GARS); the European Aviation Club; the Institute of Directors (IOD), UK; the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT), USA; a Volunteer for Airlink, the international aviation charity, and a member of the ISTAT Scholarship Program for African Students. In 2021, he was elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading Foundation (ISTAT Foundation) which was founded in 1994 to support individuals and institutions that promote the advancement of commercial aviation and humanitarianism. He worked on the ISTAT Foundation’s Grants Committee which manages fundraising and programming that meets the Foundation’s objectives. Nick helped pioneer international aviation conferences focusing on aviation finance, leasing, aircraft maintenance and aviation training, specifically tailored for Africa, providing a unique forum for African and international airlines, airports, aviation, finance and leasing organisations, industry regulators and Government officials to discuss key commercial, financial and regulatory issues affecting the African aviation industry and to seek practical solutions through mutually-beneficial co-operation. In 1990, he also helped pioneer aviation publishing in Africa with the launch of AFRICAN AVIATION, Africa’s Aviation Industry Journal, to promote the African aviation industry globally. For over 30 years Nick organised the Air Finance Africa Conference, the MRO Africa Conference, as well as other aviation events.

Background:

• Co-Chaired first ‘Air Finance’ Conference in Tokyo, Japan, in 1988 for Aircraft Lessors & Financiers.

• Co-Chaired European Air Transport Conference in London, in 1988, with UK Minister of Transport.

• Appointed by the Federal High Court of Nigeria as a Member of the Committee of Inspection in the Liquidation of Nigeria Airways (2004).

• Appointed Communication Adviser to the Secretary General, African Airlines Association (AFRAA) in 2002 with a mandate to further contribute to revamp and polish the image of the Association internationally.

• Invited as a Speaker or Moderator at numerous International Aviation Conferences organised by major bodies, including ICAO, IATA, ACI, AFRAA, AFCAC, US FAA, US NTSB, National Civil Aviation Authorities, GE Aviation and Embraer.

• Africa representative, Governing Board, International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), Montreal, Canada, an ICAO affiliate.

Nick has an MSc (Distinction), in Air Transport Planning & Management from the University of Westminster, London, UK and was the MSc Dissertation Prize Winner. He also held a Post-Graduate Diploma, Air Transport Management from Cranfield University, UK and a BSc (Honours) in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He attended Airport Economics and Finance Courses at the University of Westminster, London, UK as well as Regional and Low Cost Air Transport Courses, University of Westminster, London, UK. He also attended Boeing Leadership Seminars, Boeing Learning Center, USA.

Awards:

• In 2000, he was presented with a Plaque by the USA National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for ‘Outstanding Contribution and Service to Aviation Safety.’

• In December, 2003, he was presented with an Award by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) for “Outstanding Contribution to the African Aviation Industry” presented by then Head of State of Libya, Col. Muammar Gadaffi.

• In 2018, he was presented with an Award by the Aviation Round Table (ART), Nigeria, for “Invaluable Support and Contribution to the Upliftment of Aviation Safety in Africa, particularly in Nigeria.”

• In 2023, Nick was presented with a Certificate of Recognition for his “Extraordinary service and dedication to AATO” from the Association of African Aviation Training Organisations (AATO).