Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s camp spoke out following a report that the couple were allegedly welcomed in Nigeria by a wanted United States fugitive.
On May 18, the Daily Mail reported that the Sussexes were flown around Nigeria for their three-day tour last week by Air Peace, which is founded by Dr. Allen Onyema.
Onyema, 59, is the subject of a US federal indictment filed back in November 2019. He was charged in a $20 million bank fraud and money laundering case, according to the US Department of Justice.
Reacting to the allegations, a source close to Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, told the Daily Beast that the couple’s travel in Nigeria was organized by the Nigerian Chief of Defense Staff.
The insider also noted that Air Peace “is the largest airline in Nigeria and West Africa, and has daily flights from Lagos to Britain’s London Gatwick airport.”
It is still unclear if Meghan and Harry knew about the charges filed against Onyema.
Sources within the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office previously 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.
The Post reached out to Harry and Meghan’s reps for comment.
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.
They arrived in Lagos on May 12 and were greeted by a welcoming committee that included Onyema, who supplied his Nigerian carrier to the exiled royals during their trip.
In November 2019, 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.
According to the DOJ, over $44.9 million was allegedly transferred into Onyema’s personal and business bank accounts that he opened in Atlanta from foreign sources between 2010 and 2018.
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.”
Harry and Meghan traveled to Nigeria after the Duke of Sussex took a solo trip to London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games.
He stayed in a hotel instead of royal housing and did not see any of his estranged relatives, including his cancer-stricken father, King Charles III.
