British art dealer Ochuko Ojiri pleads guilty to funding terrorism

A British-Nigerian art expert, Oghenochuko ‘Ochuko’ Ojiri who has appeared on the BBC’s Bargain Hunt has pleaded guilty in a terrorism financing case after failing to report a series of high-value art sales to a man sanctioned for alleged links to Hezbollah.

Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, admitted eight counts of failing to make a disclosure during the course of business under the Terrorism Act 2000.

The case marks the first prosecution of its kind in the UK under this specific provision of the Act.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday that Ojiri sold artworks worth £140,000 between October 2020 and December 2021 to Nazem Ahmad, a man accused by US and UK authorities of supporting the Lebanon-based proscribed group Hezbollah.

Prosecutor Lyndon Harris told the court that Ojiri was aware of Ahmad’s sanctioned status, citing conversations and news reports the dealer had accessed.

“There is one discussion where Ojiri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about [Ahmad’s] terrorism links,” Mr Harris said.

Ojiri directly negotiated with Ahmad and congratulated him on his purchases, the court was told.

Although his gallery — Ramp Gallery, now operating as the Ojiri Gallery in east London — hired a third party to advise on compliance, Harris said the advice was “not properly acted on”.

Ahmad was sanctioned by the United States in 2019, and later by the UK government in 2023, which imposed asset freezes and banned any UK business dealings with him.

The UK government said at the time that Ahmad had “an extensive art collection in the UK” and conducted transactions with “multiple UK-based artists, art galleries and auction houses.”

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, is designated as a terrorist organisation by both the UK and the US.

Ojiri, who also appeared on Antiques Road Trip and Channel 5’s Storage: Flog the Lot!, is listed on Bargain Hunt’s website as one of its experts. He works as a freelance presenter and has not featured on BBC programmes since 2023.

His prosecution followed an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s specialist arts and antiques unit, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), and HM Revenue & Customs.

Under UK terrorism law, it is an offence to fail to notify authorities if one knows or suspects that a business associate may be involved in financing a proscribed organisation.

Ojiri, who appeared in court under the name Ochuko Ojiri, was granted bail but ordered to surrender his passport and refrain from applying for international travel documents.