An American District Court situated in Atlanta, Georgia, has cleared the Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Dr. Allen Onyema, of wrongdoing in a reported $20 million financial fraud charge brought against him by the U.S. government.

The US government had accused Onyema of moving doubtful funds from Nigeria to American bank accounts between 2017 and 2018, reportedly concealed as funds for acquiring an aircraft.

Despite Onyema's claims of innocence, he was declared wanted in the US over the charges filed against him at the District Court.

The government alleged that Onyema submitted fake documents to end a federal investigation, which resulted in 35 charges of bank fraud and money laundering in 2019.

The airline's chief of administration and finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, was named as a co-defendant in the case and was also declared wanted in connection with the case. 

After years of probes involving about five agencies of the American government, the court held that there was no loss against any bank in the suit filed by the Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

The court, however, ordered probation and a $4,000 fine against a former staff of Springfield Aviation Company Inc., Ebony Mayfield, for her roles in the case after she admitted to one of the charges against her.

A press release by Augustine Alegeh & Co. law firm, counsel to the airline, noted that Mayfield was given the lowest possible sentence under American law after pleading guilty, as she couldn’t explain several Letters of Credit utilised for the buying of aircraft for Air Peace Limited in a jury trial.