A British TV art expert who sold works to a suspected Hezbollah financier is sentenced to prison

06-06-2025

Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, had pleaded guilty to eight offenses under the Terrorism Act 2000Ojiri, who also appeared on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip, faced a possible sentence of five years in prison in the hearing at London's Central Criminal CourtLONDON: An art expert who appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt show was sentenced Friday to two and a half years in prison for failing to report his sale of pricey works to a suspected financier of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group.At a previous hearing, Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, had pleaded guilty to eight offenses under the Terrorism Act 2000. The art sales for about 140,000 pounds ($185,000) to Nazem Ahmad, a diamond and art dealer sanctioned by the UK and US as a Hezbollah financier, took place between October 2020 and December 2021. The sanctions were designed to prevent anyone in the UK or US from trading with Ahmad or his businesses.Ojiri, who also appeared on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip, faced a possible sentence of five years in prison in the hearing at London's Central Criminal Court, which is better known as the Old Bailey.In addition to the prison term, Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said Ojiri faces an additional year on license — a period of time after a prison sentence ends when an offender must stay out of trouble or risk going back to prison.She told Ojiri he had been involved in a commercial relationship 'for prestige and profit' and that until his involvement with Ahmad, he was 'someone to be admired.''You knew about Ahmad's suspected involvement in financing terrorism and the way the art market can be exploited by someone like him,' she said. 'This is the nadir — there is one direction your life can go and I am confident that you will not be in front of the courts again.'The Met's investigation into Ojiri was carried out alongside Homeland Security in the US, which is conducting a wider investigation into alleged money laundering by Ahmad using shell companies.'This prosecution, using specific Terrorism Act legislation, is the first of its kind and should act as a warning to all art dealers that we can, and will, pursue those who knowingly do business with people identified as funders of terrorist groups,' said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.Ahmad was sanctioned in 2019 by the US Treasury, which said he was a prominent Lebanon-based money launderer involved in smuggling blood diamonds, which are mined in conflict zones and sold to finance violence.Two years ago, the UK Treasury froze Ahmad's assets because he financed Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite militant organization that has been designated an international terrorist group.Following Ojiri's arrest in April 2023, the Met obtained a warrant to seize a number of artworks, including a Picasso and Andy Warhol paintings, belonging to Ahmad and held in two warehouses in the UK The collection, valued at almost 1 million pounds, is due to be sold with the funds to be reinvested back into the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office.

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Burkina Faso expels top UN official over child rights report

Saudi Gazette

10 hours ago

Saudi Gazette

Burkina Faso expels top UN official over child rights report

NAIROBI — Burkina Faso's junta has expelled the UN's top official to the West African nation over a report about children caught up in the militant conflict. Carol Flore-Smereczniak was declared "persona non grata" because of her role in drafting the report that came out in March. Covering a two-year period, the study detailed more than 2,000 cases of reported child recruitment, killings, sexual violence and abuse — blaming insurgents, government soldiers and civilian defense forces. The military government, which came to power in September 2022 and is led by Capt Ibrahim Traoré, said it had not been consulted by the UN, saying the report contained unfounded allegations. It did not cite any documentation "or court rulings to support the alleged cases of violations against children attributed to the valiant Burkinabé fighters", the government's statement said. Since 2015, rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have waged an insurgency that has killed thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes. It has prompted political instability, with two military coups in 2022. Capt Traoré took power promising to deal with the dire security situation within "two to three months". Ms Flore-Smereczniak was appointed in July 2024 — more than 18 months after her predecessor was expelled. From Mauritius, she has worked in areas experiencing or recovering from conflict for more than two decades, holding posts in Ivory Coast, Chad and Malawi, according to the UN. The UN representative before her, Italian Barbara Manzi, was declared "persona non grata" by the junta in December 2022 not long after publishing a blog post describing how the crisis was affecting education and health services, forcing many to close down. The UN has not yet officially commented on the latest expulsion, but the UN chief had expressed his regret over the decision to expel Ms Manzi whilst reiterating the UN's desire to engage with the junta to support Burkinabés. There have been concerns over the effectiveness of Capt Traoré's operation to quash the militants — with the junta rejecting the assistance of former colonial power France in favor of Russia. In the first half of 2025, militant group JNIM said it had carried out over 280 attacks in Burkina Faso — double the number for the same period in 2024, according to data verified by the BBC Rights groups have also accused the army of targeting civilians as well as suppressing political activity and the freedom of expression. Last year, the military government announced it was extending junta rule for another five years. It also said that Capt Traoré, who has built up the persona of a pan-Africanist leader, would be allowed to run for president in 2029. — BBC

Finnish MP, 30, dies inside parliament building

Al Arabiya

10 hours ago

Al Arabiya

Finnish MP, 30, dies inside parliament building

A MP from Finland's Social Democratic Party, Eemeli Peltonen, died in Finland's parliament building on Tuesday at the age of 30, the assembly's communications office said. 'The person who passed away in the Parliament Building on the morning of August 19 is Eemeli Peltonen, a member of parliament in his first term,' the statement said, expressing condolences to his relatives. Peltonen died around 11 am local time (8 am GMT), Finnish police said. The police said it 'was investigating the causes of death, but do not suspect crime at this stage.' Chair of the social democratic parliamentary group, Tytti Tuppurainen, said the 'passing of Eemeli Peltonen deeply shocks me and all of us' in a statement. 'He was a much-loved member of our community and we will miss him deeply,' she said. 'A young life has ended far too soon. We share in the grief of his loved ones and wish them strength in their mourning.' Finnish President Alexander Stubb, alongside many MP, described the news as deeply shocking and tragic. 'Today we received tragic news from Parliament. My warmest condolences go out to Eemeli Peltonen's loved ones, and I wish them strength in their time of mourning,' Stubb wrote on X. The Finnish flag could be seen flown at half-mast Tuesday outside parliament. Finnish MPS are on summer recess, with the autumn sittings set to begin on September 2.

‘Ketamine Queen' Accused of Selling Fatal Dose to Matthew Perry Agrees to Plead Guilty

Asharq Al-Awsat

11 hours ago

Asharq Al-Awsat

‘Ketamine Queen' Accused of Selling Fatal Dose to Matthew Perry Agrees to Plead Guilty

A woman known as the 'Ketamine Queen,' charged with selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him, agreed to plead guilty Monday. Jasveen Sangha becomes the fifth and final defendant charged in the overdose death of the 'Friends' star to strike a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, avoiding a trial that had been planned for September. She agreed in a signed statement filed in court to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including providing the ketamine that led to Perry's death. In a brief statement, Sangha's lawyer Mark Geragos said only, 'She's taking responsibility for her actions.' Prosecutors had cast Sangha, a 42-year-old citizen of the US and the UK, as a prolific drug dealer who was known to her customers as the 'Ketamine Queen,' using the term often in press releases and court documents. She agreed to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. The final plea deal came a year after federal prosecutors announced that five people had been charged in Perry's Oct. 28, 2023 death after a sweeping investigation. Sangha admitted in the agreement to selling four vials of ketamine to another man, Cody McLaury, hours before he died from an overdose in 2019. McLaury had no relationship to Perry. Prosecutors will drop three other counts related to the distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of methamphetamine that was unrelated to the Perry case. Sangha will officially change her plea to guilty at an upcoming hearing, where sentencing will be scheduled, prosecutors said. She could get up to 45 years in prison. The judge is not bound to follow any terms of the plea agreement, but prosecutors said in the document that they will ask for less than the maximum. She and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who pleaded guilty last month, had been the primary targets of the investigation. Three other defendants — Dr. Mark Chavez, Kenneth Iwamasa and Erik Fleming — pleaded guilty in exchange for their cooperation, which included statements implicating Sangha and Plasencia. Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home by Iwamasa, his assistant. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death. Sangha presented a posh lifestyle on Instagram, with photos of herself with the rich and famous in cities around the globe. Prosecutors said she privately presented herself as a dealer who sold to the same kind of high-class customers. Perry had been using ketamine through his regular doctor as a legal, but off-label, treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. Perry, 54, sought more ketamine than his doctor would give him. He began getting it from Plasencia about a month before his death, then started getting still more from Sangha about two weeks before his death, prosecutors said. Perry and Iwamasa found Sangha through Perry's friend Fleming. In their plea agreements, both men described the subsequent deals in detail. Fleming messaged Iwamasa saying Sangha's ketamine was 'unmarked but it's amazing,' according to court documents. Fleming texted Iwamasa that she only deals 'with high end and celebs. If it were not great stuff she'd lose her business.' With the two men acting as middlemen, Perry bought large amounts of ketamine from Sangha, including 25 vials for $6,000 in cash four days before his death. That purchase included the doses that killed Perry, prosecutors said. On the day of Perry's death, Sangha told Fleming they should delete all the messages they had sent each other, according to her indictment. Her home in North Hollywood, California, was raided in March 2024 by Drug Enforcement Administration agents who found large amounts of methamphetamines and ketamine, according to an affidavit from an agent. She has been held in federal custody for about a year. None of the defendants has yet been sentenced. Sangha also agreed in her plea deal not to contest the seizure of her property that went with the investigation, including more than $5,000 in cash. Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on 'Friends,' when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC's megahit series.