Bargain Hunt Expert Jailed for Failing to Report Sale of Artworks to Hezbollah Financier
A television expert who has appeared on the popular show Bargain Hunt has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for failing to report the sale of artworks to a man suspected of financing the terrorist group Hezbollah. Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, who is known as Ochuko, sold around £140,000 worth of art to Nazem Ahmad over a 14-month period between October 2020 and December 2021, the Old Bailey heard.
According to Sky News, Ojiri, who owned the Ramp Gallery, which was later renamed the Ojiri Gallery, admitted eight counts of failing to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector, contrary to section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000. Lebanese businessman and diamond dealer Ahmad was described in court as a "prominent financier" for Hezbollah, a proscribed terrorist group in the UK.
The court heard that Ojiri sent a message to a contact saying, "I can’t risk selling directly to him," after Ahmad was sanctioned in the US. However, prosecutor Lyndon Harris said "that’s exactly what he did" when he sold artworks, which were sent to Dubai, the UAE and Beirut. As Sky News reported, Ahmad has an extensive art collection worth tens of millions of pounds, including works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, many of which are displayed in his penthouse in Beirut.
Sentencing Ojiri to two years and six months in prison, with an additional year on extended licence, the judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, told him: "You knew about Ahmad’s suspected involvement in financing terrorism and the way the art market can be exploited by someone like him". She said Ojiri, from Brent, north London, viewed his offences as a "shameful fall from grace of a public personality and role model for those from an ethnic minority, in the arts and antique sector".
The judge added: "Your hard work, talent and charisma have brought you a great deal of success. You knew you shouldn’t be dealing with this man. I don’t accept you were naive, rather it benefitted you to close your eyes to what you believed he was. You knew it was your duty to alert the authorities but you elected to balance the financial profit and commercial success of your business against Ahmad’s dark side."
As Sky News reported, Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police’s counter terrorism command, said the prosecution was the "first of its kind" and should serve as a warning to art dealers. "Oghenochuko Ojiri wilfully obscured the fact he knew he was selling artwork to Nazem Ahmad, someone who has been sanctioned by the UK and US treasury and described as a funder of the proscribed terrorist group Hezbollah," he said.
In a statement, Sky News highlighted that Ojiri’s barrister Kevin Irwin said he was arrested on 18 April 2023 in Wrexham while filming a BBC show and his "humiliation is complete" as he appeared for sentencing. The news provider also noted that Ahmad was sanctioned on the same day in the UK and officers later seized artworks held in two warehouses in the country, including a Picasso and a Warhol, valued at almost £1m.
The case highlights the importance of art dealers and businesses in the regulated sector being vigilant and reporting suspicious transactions to the authorities. As Sky News reported, the prosecution serves as a warning to those who would seek to exploit the art market for financial gain, while also supporting terrorist organisations.
