08-05-2025
Bargain Hunt art dealer charged with terror offences
An art dealer who appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt television programme has been charged as part of an investigation into terrorist financing.
Ogheneochuko Ojiri, 53, who is a regular expert on the daytime entertainment show, has been charged with eight offences and is due to appear before Westminster magistrates' court on Friday.
The charges follow an investigation by detectives from the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit (NTFIU), which is part of Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command.
Mr Ojiri has been charged with eight counts of failing to make a disclosure during the course of business, contrary to section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000.
The charges relate to a period from October 2020 to December 2021 and he is the first person to be charged with a specific offence under section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Detectives from the arts and antiques unit of London's Metropolitan Police, specialists from the Treasury and officers from the art section of HMRC also assisted with the investigation.
Mr Ojiri, who runs his own art gallery, also appears on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip as one of its resident experts.
He began his career in antiquities with a vintage shop in Dalston, east London.
He later opened The Ojiri Gallery in Shoreditch, specialising in contemporary art.
