US seizes jet of Nigerian ‘involved in multi-million dollar fraud’

The US federal authorities have seized an aircraft
belonging to a Nigerian facing multi-million dollar fraud charges
in the country.

According to WSB-TV^[1], the seizure was
made on Tuesday at the Peachtree DeKalb Airport in Georgia.

Federal agents were said to have ransacked the aircraft for
evidence, while another team searched for drugs and other
contraband.

However, the authorities did not mention the name of the
Nigerian whose aircraft was seized.

“For the most part, people don’t even understand. They don’t
know what’s happening in Atlanta, Georgia,” one of the special
agents said.

“This is all day, every day. I mean, this is the fruits of our
labor, and this is the successes of a great team effort by our
state, local and federal partners coming together to hit the bad
guys where it hurts, in their pocket.

“When we see a certain type of aircraft get sold, it raises our
suspicions.”

In November, US authorities indicted Allen Onyema,
chief executive officer of Air Peace, for allegedly moving more
than $20 million from Nigeria through US bank accounts in a scheme
involving false documents based on the purchase of aircraft.

Onyema was said to have started 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 was indicted alongside Ejiroghene Eghagha, the airline’s
chief of administration and finance, who is said to have committed
aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.

A US district court of the northern district of Georgia was also
reported to have issued a warrant to arrest
Onyema and authorised US marshals service to bring him into
custody. TheCable