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

4. 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.

• Hezbollah used Mr Ahmad, who has joint Lebanese-Belgian nationality, "to launder substantial amounts of money bound for the terrorist group",
• It claims he has longstanding ties with the illegal trade in "blood diamonds."

5. US authorities are offering a $10m reward for information about Mr Ahmad, who is thought to still be in Lebanon.
6. 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

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

WHAT WAS SAID IN THE SENTENCING

10. At Friday's 7 June sentencing hearing, Lyndon Harris, for the prosecution, said,
• "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."
11. The Old Bailey heard how Mr Ahmad had sent Ojiri messages on email and Instagram.
• "The defendant engaged in sales discussions and sales with Nazem Ahmad and his associates" over 14 months.
12. 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'

13. The Old Bailey heard UK law enforcement had been alerted to suspicious transactions linked to Mr Ahmad by their counterparts in the US.
14. Transactions uncovered by UK police showed he paid nearly £140,000 for works he had shipped from London to Dubai and Beirut.
15. He bought them from Ojiri, including a £20,000 painting by Icelandic artist Baldur Helgason.
16. By 2021, he had made several secret art sales to the suspected Hezbollah financier.
17. 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.
18. On the same day, the Treasury sanctioned Mr Ahmad and banned him from travelling to the UK.
19. 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.
20. 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

21. 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.
22. Cdr Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, SAID

• "You will need to make sure you are doing your due diligence," says

23. Last year, the National Crime Agency issued an amber alert warning that criminals could use storage facilities for artwork

• "Seeking a capital asset that can be safely stored, that appreciates over time, and that can be liquidated if and when required".

24. It followed the seizure of 23 paintings, worth almost £1m, from a warehouse and an auction house in London.
25. The art, which included work by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, belonged to Mr Ahmad.
26. 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/