Latest news with #NazemAhmad
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
BBC star Oghenochuko Ojiri pleads guilty to financing suspected Hezbollah financier
Oghenochuko Ojiri, who regularly appeared as an art expert on the popular BBC series 'Bargain Hunt,' pleaded guilty to helping finance the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Ojiri made the stunning admission on Friday during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, according to BBC News. He pleaded guilty to eight counts of failing to disclose potential terrorist financing. Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, is designated as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK. The embattled 'Bargain Hunt' star reportedly admitted that he had helped fund the group by selling artwork to Nazem Ahmad, a suspected terrorist financier sanctioned by the US and UK due to his alleged links to Hezbollah. Prosecutors in the case claimed that Ojiri submitted paperwork for the sales of certain pieces of art to Ahmad by naming 'other individuals suggested by Mr. Ahmad's associates' in what was 'alleged to be an attempt to disguise the true owner of the works of art.' The deals took place between October 2020 and January 2022, the court was told, and the art was valued to be worth a whopping $186K. 'At the time of the transactions, Mr. Ojiri knew that Nazem Ahmad had been sanctioned in the U.S. as a suspected terrorist financier,' the prosecutor, Lyndon Harris, told the court. 'Mr. Ojiri accessed news reports about Mr. Ahmad's designation and engaged in discussions with others about it,' he added, 'indicating his knowledge or suspicions.' Ojiri was ultimately arrested by counterterrorism police on April 18, 2023, following a lengthy investigation. The US Justice Department soon announced charges against Ojiri, Ahmad and eight others for allegedly evading terrorism-related sanctions, per the New York Times. Before his arrest, the art gallery owner appeared on several episodes of 'Bargain Hunt' as a freelance expert. The show, which launched on BBC One in 2000, features two pairs of contestants who are challenged to purchase antiques from shops or fairs and sell them at an auction for more than they initially paid. BBC pulled Ojiri from the official 'Bargain Hunt' website following his conviction. According to Deadline, he had been listed as an expert whose best 'Bargain Hunt' find was a 'box of tiny Victorian china dolls.' Ojiri also appeared in similar capacities on BBC shows like 'Antiques Road Trip' and 'Storage: Flog the Lot!' 'It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings,' a spokesperson for the network said after Ojiri's conviction. District Judge Briony Clarke reportedly granted Ojiri bail, but ordered the former BBC star to hand over his passport. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 6.
Asharq Al-Awsat
10-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Art Expert Pleads Guilty to Selling Works to Suspected Hezbollah Financier
An art expert who appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt show pleaded guilty Friday to failing to report that he sold pricey works to a suspected financier of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group. Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, was charged with failing to disclose art sales between October 2020 and December 2021. He pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates' Court to eight offences under a section of the Terrorism Act 2000. Ojiri sold about 140,000 pounds ($185,000) of artworks to Nazem Ahmad, a diamond and art dealer sanctioned by the UK and US as a Hezbollah financier. The sanctions were designed to prevent anyone in the UK or US from doing business with Ahmad or his businesses. US prosecutors said Ahmad acquired more than $160 million (120 million pounds) in artwork and diamond services by using a complex web of companies to evade sanctions, reported The Associated Press. Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Ojiri knew about the sanctions against Ahmad because he had searched for news reports about his status and discussed it with others. '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,' Harris said. 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 the Iranian-backed Shiite militant organization that has been designated an international terrorist group. Ojiri, who also appeared on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced June 6 in the Central Criminal Court.
Associated Press
09-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Art expert pleads guilty to selling works to suspected Hezbollah financier
LONDON (AP) — An art expert who appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt show pleaded guilty Friday to failing to report that he sold pricey works to a suspected financier of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group. Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, was charged with failing to disclose art sales between October 2020 and December 2021. He pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates' Court to eight offences under a section of the Terrorism Act 2000. Ojiri sold about 140,000 pounds ($185,000) of artworks to Nazem Ahmad, a diamond and art dealer sanctioned by the U.K. and U.S. as a Hezbollah financier. The sanctions were designed to prevent anyone in the U.K. or U.S. from doing business with Ahmad or his businesses. U.S. prosecutors said Ahmad acquired more than $160 million (120 million pounds) in artwork and diamond services by using a complex web of companies to evade sanctions. Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Ojiri knew about the sanctions against Ahmad because he had searched for news reports about his status and discussed it with others. '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,' Harris said. Ahmad was sanctioned in 2019 by the U.S. 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 U.K. Treasury froze Ahmad's assets because he financed the Iranian-backed Shiite militant organization that has been designated an international terrorist group. Ojiri, who also appeared on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced June 6 in the Central Criminal Court.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The Hezbollah 'financier' linked to BBC Bargain Hunt star: Wealthy art collector Nazem Ahmad is a suspected 'blood diamond' dealer and money launderer who is sanctioned by Britain and US 'for funding terror group'
Dressed in blue jeans and reclining in a sleek leather armchair, he looks every inch the high-flying international businessman. But Nazem Ahmad is in fact a wanted man - accused by the US and UK of using his role as an art collector and diamond trader to raise funds for Hezbollah, the brutal Iran-backed terror group. The 60-year-old was today named in court as a business contact of art dealer and BBC Bargain Hunt star Ochuko Ojiri, who had been accused of selling Ahmad £140,000 worth of art in 2020 and 2021 despite being aware of his background. Today, at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Ojiri dramatically pleaded guilty to eight charges under section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000 by failing to report the transactions to the authorities. According to prosecutors, Ojiri first struck up a business relationship with Ahmad in October 2020. By this point, Ahmad had already been sanctioned by the US Treasury, with officials accusing the dual Belgian-Lebanese national of being a 'major' donor to Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist militant group dedicated to the destruction of Israel. A wanted poster issued by American officials makes it clear they consider Ahmad to be a serious player, with a $10million (£7.52m) reward offered for information on his whereabouts. Alongside money laundering and terrorism financing, he is also alleged to be involved in the smuggling of 'blood diamonds' - a term used for stones mined in conflict zones before being traded on the black market. None of this appears to have stopped Ojiri from working with Ahmad while director of his eponymous Ojiri Gallery in the trendy London district of Shoreditch. According to prosecutors, he was fully aware Ahmad had been sanctioned by the US, reading news reports about him on his phone while openly discussing the diamond dealer's alleged links to global terror. Prosecutor Lyndon Harris today told a judge that Ojiri 'dealt with Mr Ahmad directly, negotiated the sales of artwork and congratulated him on those sales'. The businessman had first been sanctioned as a terrorist financier by the US Treasury in 2019. In April 2024, he was charged by the US alongside eight associates of using front companies to acquire more than £120 million in artwork and diamond services. British police played a key role in the case against him, swooping on a high-security depot at Heathrow Airport last year before seizing nearly two dozen works of art in his collection. Linked raids at a London auction house recovered more works he had been planning to sell, including paintings by Picasso and Andy Warhol. The proceeding years had seen a tightening of money laundering regulations that, in January 2020, brought the art market under HMRC supervision. Ojiri is said to have discussed the changes with a colleague, indicating awareness of the rules. Counter-terror police investigating Ahmad's business dealings first arrested Ojiri in April 2023, but he claimed to be unaware of his alleged links to terror. But he backtracked in a second interview in July 2023, admitting to officers that he knew he was the subject of US sanctions. According to a CPS summary to a CPS summary of the interview, Ojiri told officers that links with Ahmad were seen as a 'great accolade' due to his reputation in the art work. He said he was 'sorry' for his actions and claimed to have been motivated by the 'excitement and kudos of dealing with a ''name'' in the collecting world', rather than greed. Prosecutors say the artwork sold by Ojiri appears to have been sent to Dubai, the UAE or Beirut - where Ahmad is currently believed to be located. Ojiri, meanwhile, is awaiting sentencing at the Old Bailey on June 6. It represents a dramatic downfall for the previously respected antiques specialist, who first appeared on screens on the BBC's Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is. He then became a regular on Bargain Hunt, gaining a reputation for his enthusiastic on-screen demeanor and love of hats, before also appearing on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip. Away from the TV screen, he owned a vintage shop in the capital called Pelicans & Parrots, which was dubbed 'the coolest place in London' before shutting its doors in October 2021. Ojiri has described his love of collecting items including contemporary art, paintings, prints, sculpture and drawings - telling the BBC: 'I'm absolutely obsessed, in love and infatuated.' Today, district judge Briony Clarke granted bail but ordered him to surrender his passport and not to apply for international travel documents. He now faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. In the UK, the entirety of Hezbollah - both its military and political wings - has been banned as a terrorist group since 2019.
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Bargain Hunt expert admits failing to report art sales to Hezbollah financier
BBC Bargain Hunt art expert has admitted failing to report a series of high-value art sales to a man suspected of financing militant 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 the BBC's Antiques Road Trip, was charged with failing to disclose information about transactions in the regulated art market sector between October 2020 and December 2021. Lyndon Harris, prosecuting, said Ojiri sold artwork to Nazem Ahmad, a man designated by US authorities as a suspected financier for the Lebanese organisation. 'At the time of the transactions, Mr Ojiri knew Mr Ahmad had been sanctioned in the US,' Mr Harris told the court. 'Mr Ojiri accessed news reports about Mr Ahmad'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.' Mr Harris said Ojiri 'dealt with Mr Ahmad directly, negotiated the sales of artwork and congratulated him on those sales'. US prosecutors say Mr Ahmad was a 'major Hezbollah financial donor' who used high-value art and diamonds to launder money and fund the group. He is accused of evading terrorism sanctions by using front companies to acquire more than 160 million dollars (£120 million) in artwork and diamond services. Following the introduction of new money laundering regulations in January 2020 that brought the art market under HMRC supervision, Ojiri is said to have discussed the changes with a colleague, indicating awareness of the rules. The court heard the total value of the artwork sold was around £140,000. 'They are not sham transactions – the art was sent to Dubai, the UAE, or Beirut,' Mr Harris added. Ojiri, of Brent, North London, has appeared on a number of BBC shows – including Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip. He described himself as 'absolutely obsessed' with collecting contemporary art in a BBC Q&A. He has previously worked as an auctioneer and is known for championing African and European contemporary art. District Judge Briony Clarke granted bail but ordered Ojiri to surrender his passport and not to apply for international travel documents. Sentencing will take place at the Old Bailey on June 6. The offence carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment. Gavin Irwin, mitigating, told the court: 'He is not a flight risk. 'The fact that he is here – he has left the UK and has always returned knowing he may be charged with offences – he will be here on the next occasion.' Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist political and militant group based in Lebanon, backed by Iran and known for its armed resistance against Israel. In the UK, the entire organisation – both its military and political wings – has been banned as a terrorist group since 2019.
