Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly welcomed to Lagos, Nigeria by a fugitive wanted in the United States for money laundering and bank fraud.
Dr. Allen Onyema, 59, was among a small group of officials who greeted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they touched down in the city last Sunday, according to the Daily Mail.
Onyema is the founder and CEO of Air Peace, a Nigerian carrier that Meghan and Harry used on their 3-day tour of the country.
The charismatic businessman is well-known in Nigeria, but is the subject of a US federal indictment filed back in November 2019.
At the time, the US Department of Justice released a statement saying Onyema was “charged with bank fraud and money laundering for moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through United States bank accounts in a scheme involving false documents based on the purchase of airplanes.”
Onyema allegedly used the laundered money, in part, to buy a Lexus, a Rolls Royce, a Mercedes and designer goods at Prada and Louis Vuitton, CNN has reported.
It’s unclear whether Harry and Meghan are aware of the charges filed against the airline CEO.
Onyema has maintained his innocence, saying back in 2019: “Be rest assured that I also have my lawyers on this and these mere allegations will be refuted.”
“I never laundered money in my life, neither have I committed bank fraud anywhere in the world,” he further asserted. “Every Kobo [Nigerian currency] I transferred to the US for aircraft purchase went through the Central Bank of Nigeria LC regime and all were used for the same purpose.”
In 2010, Onyema began traveling frequently to Atlanta, where he opened several personal and business bank accounts.
According to the DOJ announcement, over $44.9 million was allegedly transferred into Onyema’s Atlanta-based accounts from foreign sources between 2010 and 2018.
“Onyema allegedly leveraged his status as a prominent business leader and airline executive while using falsified documents to commit fraud,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said in the announcement.
“We will diligently protect the integrity our banking system from being corrupted by criminals, even when they disguise themselves in a cloak of international business.”
Harry and Meghan spent 3 days in Nigeria last week after being invited by the West African country’s chief of defense staff — its highest-ranking military official.
Sources within the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office told the Daily Mail that Harry and Meghan were “visiting Nigeria in a private capacity” and that the UK government was not involved in “arranging or facilitating” their activities.
However, critics of the couple claimed the trip imitated a “royal tour” — despite the fact the Sussexes stopped being working royals in 2020.
The tour is said to have made both Prince Willian and King Charles “absolutely furious.”
Author and royal expert Tom Quinn told the Mirror that “Charles is said to be angrier than anyone has ever seen him.”
“Everything you might expect from an official royal visit was there — the receptions, the visits to schools and charities, to wounded soldiers and the disabled,” Quinn stated.
