The warrant authorised US Marshals Service to take Onyema into custody.
A warrant of arrest has been issued against Allen Onyema of Air Peace for alleged money laundering and bank fraud in the United States, according to court documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES.
The warrant was signed by Justin Anand, an American magistrate of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, on November 19.
The warrant authorised US Marshals Service to take Onyema into custody.
Onyema’s whereabouts as of Saturday morning could not be confirmed but he was seen at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Thursday.
The US and Nigeria have a mutual legal assistance policy that allows both countries to extradite suspects facing criminal charges.
It was unclear whether the US authorities have sought an extradition of Onyema as part of efforts to execute warrant of arrest issued against him.
Onyema was indicted on Friday for allegedly laundering suspicious funds in excess of $20 million dollars in the US together with Ejiroghene Eghagha, Air Peace’s Head of Finance and Administration.
A warrant for the arrest of Eghagha was also issued by the US court.
Also, about $14m traced to Onyema’s bank accounts in the US and Canada have been frozen as federal authorities pursue a final forfeiture order.
The seizure came after extensive investigation of how the Air Peace founder allegedly conducted the fraud between 2010 and 2018.
Lawyers of both men have revealed that they would challenge the charges in court.