It was learnt that after the U.S. Government released indictment charges against Mr. Onyema and the airline’s Chief Finance Officer Ejiroghene Eghagha, a former top officer of the Amnesty Programme sneaked out of the United States to evade arrest.

Four firms/Non-Governmental Organisations involved in the wire deal scandal reportedly have links with the Amnesty Programme Office and the Niger Delta Development Commission according to preliminary findings, and investigators have also found the wire deals to have the imprints of some former political office holders.

A top EFCC source said: “Detectives have been able to establish that some of the firms/groups/NGOs were engaged in humongous contracts by NDDC and the Amnesty Programme Office for the training of some ex-militants abroad.  Such contracts were spread for over 10 years covering some foreign jurisdictions and some administrations in Amnesty Programme Office and NDDC. We are probing links between the amnesty cash and the $44.9 million in the indictment charges. Our team will interact with relevant desks and analyse the financial records of the affected agencies.  Some few persons have claimed that more than of the contracts for the training of ex-militants were awarded to groups/ firms allegedly owned by Onyema. Our comprehensive investigation will determine the veracity or otherwise of this. Depending on our findings, we are likely to invite some past coordinators and top officers of the Amnesty Programme Office and NDDC. We are strongly suspecting that some amnesty funds might have been laundered. But when we go into the books, we will be able to establish the truth or otherwise.
There is a nexus between the timelines in the indictment charges and the years some contracts were awarded to Onyema. Our job is not to prejudge, we will do a thorough assignment.
Detectives are retrieving all banking records of the firms/ groups and NGOs. We will be fair and firm. And we will release details of our findings soon. We will invite all the key actors, including Onyema, and officers of relevant banks.”

Onyema and Ejiroghene Eghagha, Air Peace’s head of finance and administration, were recently indicted for alleged money laundering and bank fraud in the United States. Both suspects strongly deny the allegations and said they looked forward to proving their innocence in court.

Some of the companies’ bank accounts in the U.S. and Canada have been frozen with their substantial balances as part of the investigation, court documents showed. The documents showed that $4,017,852.51 was seized from JP Morgan Chase Bank account number ending in 5512 held in the name of Springfield Aviation Company, LLC.

Another $4,593,842.05 held in Bank of Montreal with account number ending 7523 in the name of Springfield Aviation Inc. was also seized.  American government also traced and seized $5,634,842.04 held in Bank of Montreal with account number ending in 515 in the name of Bluestream Aero Services, Inc.

Air Peace’s Chief of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha was also linked to the alleged fraudulent scheme and was charged with bank fraud and committing aggravated identity theft.

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.”