ARTICLE AD BOX
A BBC Bargain Hunt art dealer has admitted failing to report high-value art sales to a man suspected of financing terrorist group Hezbollah.
Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, pleaded guilty to eight offences under section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000 during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
The art dealer, who has also appeared on Antiques Road Trip, was charged with failing to disclose information about transactions in the regulated art market sector between October 2020 and December 2021.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Ojiri sold artwork to Nazem Ahmed, a man designated by US authorities as a suspected financier for the Lebanese militant group.
“At the time of the transactions, Mr Ojiri knew Mr Ahmed had been sanctioned in the US,” Mr Harris told the court.
“Mr Ojiri accessed news reports about Mr Ahmed’s designation and engaged in discussions with others about his designation.
“There is one discussion where Mr Ojiri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about his terrorism links.”
The prosecutor said that Ojiri “dealt with Mr Ahmed directly, negotiated the sales of artwork and congratulated him on those sales”.
This is a breaking news story, more follows...
English (US) ·