A London-based accountant to a Hezbollah financier is being extradited to the US.

Madurai-born SUNDAR NAGARAJAN, 65, is accused of assisting NAZEM AHMAD, a financier for Hezbollah, by acting as his accountant and advisor.

He

• Was arrested by the Metropolitan Police’s National Extradition Unit from an address in Hayes west London, on April 18, 2023
• Named in a nine-count indictment unsealed on Tuesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on April 22, 2024  

 Nagarajan was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and lives in the UK, London, and Hayes and is also known as:-

• Nagarajan Sundar Poongulam Kasivlswanathan Naga and
• Sundar Poongulam K Nagarajan,

The charges against Nagarajan include conspiring to defraud the United States and evade terrorism-related sanctions.

• Approximately £1 million worth of art was seized by police as part of the investigation.
• This art was allegedly used in money laundering activities to benefit Hezbollah.

A NINE-COUNT INDICTMENT

1. A nine-count indictment was unsealed on Tuesday in the US District Court for the eastern district of New York, charging
   • Ahmad and eight co-defendants, including Nagarajan, were charged 
     1. With conspiring to defraud the US and foreign governments, evade US sanctions and customs laws, and conduct money laundering transactions by securing goods and services for the benefit of Ahmad, whom the US designated as a "specially-designated terrorist" in December 2019 for providing finances to Hezbollah.
     2. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/media/1287636/dl?inline
   • Nagarajan was designated for "having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Nazem Ahmad."
2. The US Treasury Department actions
   • Lebanese resident and dual Belgian-Lebanese citizen Ahmad, born in Sierra Leone, remains large, and the us has offered up to $10 million for information leading to Ahmad's arrest
   • The US has issued Sanctions against more than 50 individuals and associated companies, including Nagarajan, for being involved in a vast money laundering and sanctions evasion network that assisted Ahmad in evading US sanctions by facilitating the payment, shipment, and delivery of cash, diamonds, art, and luxury goods for Ahmad's benefit.
3. The US Treasury Department said
   • Nagarajan "acted as Ahmad's primary international accountant, providing material support through his management of, and accounting for, businesses in Ahmad's network."
   • "Sundar Nagarajan was the central manager of financial ledgers detailing the network's operations in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa.
   • Sundar Nagarajan also facilitated payment for and shipment of art that Nazem Said Ahmad purchased from major auction houses and galleries." 
4. The evidence against Sundar Nagarajan includes:
   • Financial Records: Nagarajan is accused of managing financial ledgers detailing the network's operations in various countries, including Hong Kong, the UAE, and South Africa.
   • Art Transactions: He allegedly facilitated payments for and shipments of art from major auction houses and galleries purchased by Nazem Ahmad.
   • Money Laundering: The seized art, worth approximately £1 million, is believed to have been used in money laundering activities to benefit Hezbollah.

References

• Indian man arrested in London faces extradition to US over terrorism ... independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/indian-man-arrested-in-london-terror-charges-b2324248.html
• Indian man arrested in UK in terror funding case extradited to US https://indianexpress.com/article/world/indian-man-arrested-uk-terror-funding-case-extradited-us-9074940/
• DMP:CRH/NJM UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ...https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/media/1287636/dl?inline
• Indian citizen arrested in London, faces extradition to US to face ... https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/indian-citizen-arrested-in-london-faces-extradition-to-us-to-face-charges-of-assisting-top-hizbollah-financier/articleshow/99622190.cms
• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/indian-man-arrested-in-london-terror-charges-b2324248.html
• https://www.news18.com/india/indian-man-arrested-in-uk-in-terror-funding-case-extradited-to-us-8710520.html

ALSO READ

A UK man is jailed for two years and six months for failing to report suspicious “terrorist” transactions.

It has been reported on Friday, 6 June 2025, that Oghenochuko Ojiri has been jailed for two years and six months ( with a further year to be spent on licence)  for failing to declare art he sold to a suspected financier of Hezbollah.

• Hezbollah is a group proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the US and UK.

In the first prosecution of its kind, Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, admitted

• Eight counts under the Terrorism Act 2000 of failing to disclose during business before his sentencing at the Old Bailey on Friday, 6 June 2025

Oghenochuko Ojiri

1. Founded Ramp Gallery, now known as the Ojiri Gallery, based in East London.
2. Came to public prominence with appearances in the BBC series Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, before hitting the big time on Bargain Hunt in 2019.
3. also appeared on Channel 5's Storage: Flog the Lot! In 2021, he joined Antiques Road Trip.

THE US VIEWS

1. Mr Ahmad was sanctioned in 2019 by US authorities because he is believed to be a top donor to Lebanon-based Hezbollah. This Shia Muslim political and military group is backed by Iran and banned as a terrorist organisation by the US and UK, according to the US Treasury Department.
   1. Hezbollah used Mr Ahmad, who has joint Lebanese-Belgian nationality, "to launder substantial amounts of money bound for the terrorist group",
   2. It claims he has longstanding ties with the illegal trade in "blood diamonds."
2. US authorities are offering a $10m reward for information about Mr Ahmad, who is thought to still be in Lebanon.
3. The US authorities also charged Mr Ahmad with defrauding the US and foreign governments, money laundering and sanctions evasion, claiming companies connected to him had been engaged in more than $400m of financial transactions between 2020 and 2022.

UK MAN BEING EXTRADITED

1. As part of the American case, the Met police arrested a man living in Hayes, west London, for extradition to the US.
2. SUNDAR NAGARAJAN is now awaiting trial in New York, accused of acting as Mr Ahmad's accountant and advisor.
3. Approximately £1m worth of art was seized by police

WHAT WAS SAID IN THE SENTENCING

1. At Friday's 7 June sentencing hearing, Lyndon Harris, for the prosecution, said,
1. "Analysis of Ojiri's phone revealed Mr Ahmad was in his contacts as 'Moss Collector', a name deliberately chosen to disguise the art collector as one of his contacts."
2. The Old Bailey heard how Mr Ahmad had sent Ojiri messages on email and Instagram.
1. "The defendant engaged in sales discussions and sales with Nazem Ahmad and his associates" over 14 months.
3. He explained how Ojiri's arrest came after people working in the art market were brought into the regulated sector in 2020, meaning they were bound by anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures to report suspicious transactions or face prosecution.

'SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS'

1. The Old Bailey heard UK law enforcement had been alerted to suspicious transactions linked to Mr Ahmad by their counterparts in the US.
2. Transactions uncovered by UK police showed he paid nearly £140,000 for works he had shipped from London to Dubai and Beirut.
3. He bought them from Ojiri, including a £20,000 painting by Icelandic artist Baldur Helgason.
4. By 2021, he had made several secret art sales to the suspected Hezbollah financier.
5. Although he was careful to keep Mr Ahmad's name off the paperwork, officers in the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit tracked the money to Ojiri and, in April 2023, police arrested him.
6. On the same day, the Treasury sanctioned Mr Ahmad and banned him from travelling to the UK.
7. At first, Ochuko Ojiri refused to answer police questions, but in a prepared statement, he said he had no reason to believe Mr Ahmad was a terrorist and money launderer.
8. But evidence seized from his phone showed he had researched who Mr Ahmad was and knew we had sanctioned him. A colleague had even messaged to warn him against doing business with Mr Ahmad.

JUDGE MRS JUSTICE CHEEMA-GRUBB SAID

• Ojiri knew that the art he sold was to Nazem Ahmad, who had been sanctioned in 2019 by the US authorities.
• "These offences are so severe that only a custodial sentence can be justified," she said.
• "Your hard work, talent and charisma have brought you great success... You knew you should not have been dealing with that man."
• There was no evidence that Ojiri supported any form of extremism, but his conduct undermined the detection of terrorist financing.

GAVIN IRWIN, REPRESENTING OJIRI, SAID

• The art expert's "humiliation is complete" with the star losing "his good name" and the "work he loves."
• "He'd like to apologise for undermining trust" in the art market, Mr Irwin said, adding Ojiri had been naïve.

BETHAN DAVID, HEAD OF THE CPS COUNTER TERRORISM DIVISION, SAID

• Ojiri's motivation appeared "to be financial, along with a broader desire to boost his gallery's reputation within the art market by dealing with such a well-known collector,"
• "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 this way."

So, how did an art expert famous for appearing on UK daytime television get involved in funding Hezbollah?

WARNINGS

1. The TV star was charged under a section of the Terrorism Act 2000 that has never been used before. Police hope it will send a clear message to those doing business in the art world.
2. Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, SAID
   1. "You will need to make sure you are doing your due diligence," says
3. Last year, the National Crime Agency issued an amber alert warning that criminals could use storage facilities for artwork
   1. "Seeking a capital asset that can be safely stored, that appreciates over time, and that can be liquidated if and when required".
4. It followed the seizure of 23 paintings, worth almost £1m, from a warehouse and an auction house in London.
5. The art, which included work by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, belonged to Mr Ahmad.
6. It will soon be sold off at auction as the proceeds of crime, and the money raised will go to the Home Office to be used in the fight against crime.

Source

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7539vd0wepo

https://jerseyeveningpost.com/morenews/entertainment/2025/06/06/bbc-bargain-hunt-expert-jailed-over-art-sales-to-hezbollah-financier/