An art expert who appeared on a BBC auction show was jailed for 30 months on Friday after a series of deals with a suspected Hezbollah financier.
Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, also known as Ochuko, sold artwork worth around £140,000 ($166,150) to Nazem Ahmad, a man designated by US authorities for alleged laundering for the Lebanese group.
A regular on the Bargain Hunt programme, Ojiri was arrested two years ago by officers from the UK's National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit. The investigation centred on alleged terrorist financing and money laundering by Mr Ahmad, an art collector and diamond dealer.
Mr Ahmad, 60, a dual Belgian-Lebanese citizen, is under sanctions by Britain and the US. He has been accused of using the UK’s fine art market to run an international financing operation for Hezbollah which is proscribed in the UK as a terrorist organisation.
The art dealer's connection to the investigation into Mr Ahmad was first revealed by The National on Thursday, when he was charged.
Ojiri is known for his appearances on the BBC’s Bargain Hunt and has also appeared on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip.
Ojiri had admitted to eight charges of failing to disclose his dealings with Mr Ahmad, which took place between October 2020 and December 2021, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris told the court hearing in May that Ojiri “engaged in sales of artwork to Nazem Ahmad, a suspected terrorist financier”.
Following the introduction of new money laundering regulations in January 2020 that brought the art market under the supervision of UK Customs, Ojiri is said to have discussed the changes with a colleague, indicating awareness of the rules, he told the court.
“At the time of the transactions, Ojiri knew Mr Ahmad had been sanctioned in the US,” Mr Harris said. “He accessed news reports about Mr Ahmad and engaged in conversations with others about that, which indicates that he had information about Mr Ahmad.” Mr Ahmad was first accused by the US Treasury in 2019 of laundering substantial amounts of money and being involved in the smuggling of “blood diamonds” for Hezbollah.
He was sanctioned, then in April 2024 charged by the US along with eight associates with offences relating to breaching sanctions regulations.
Police swooped on the high-security depot near London's Heathrow Airport in 2024, taking away nearly two dozen works of art belonging to Mr Ahmad, which they believe would probably have funded Hezbollah.
