Oghenochuko Ojiri, a British-Nigerian man, has been sentenced to two years and six months in the UK for selling artwork to an individual suspected of funding Hezbollah, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by British authorities.
Ojiri, 53, a former BBC Bargain Hunt expert, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight counts under the Terrorism Act 2000 for failing to disclose suspicious transactions.
The case marks the first prosecution of its kind under that section of the law, BBC reports.
“These offences are so severe that only a custodial sentence can be justified,” said the judge, Justice Cheema-Grubb.
“You knew about Ahmad’s suspected involvement in financing terrorism and the way the art market can be exploited by people like him.”
She told the court, “Your hard work, talent and charisma has brought you a great deal of success… you knew you should not have been dealing with that man.”
Though there was no evidence that Ojiri supported extremism, the judge said his failure to report the dealings with Nazem Ahmad “undermined the detection of terrorist financing.”
Ojiri secretly sold nearly £140,000 worth of artwork — including a £20,000 piece by Icelandic artist Baldur Helgason — to Ahmad between 2020 and 2021. The works were shipped from London to Dubai and Beirut.
“Raising money for terrorism is a core part of how terrorist groups are then able to cause harm around the world,” said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command.
Bethan David, head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division, said: “This prosecution is believed to be the first of its kind, and the CPS will not hesitate to bring criminal charges against individuals who flout the law in this way.”
Ojiri’s lawyer, Gavin Irwin, said, “He’d like to apologise for undermining trust” in the art market and added, “His humiliation is complete,” noting that the television star had lost “his good name” and “the work he loves.”
Although Ojiri initially claimed he had no reason to suspect Ahmad was involved in terrorism, messages and research found on his phone revealed he was aware of US sanctions against the collector. A colleague had even warned him to stay away.
Ahmad, sanctioned by the US in 2019, is accused of laundering funds for Hezbollah through the art market and remains at large in Lebanon.
