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article news schedule May 12, 2025 visibility 5 link 1 artist, 2 galleries

dealer oghenochuko ojiri pleads guilty hezbollah financier 1234741683

London art dealer Oghenochuko Ojiri has pleaded guilty to eight charges of failing to disclose potential terrorist financing after selling artworks to Nazem Ahmad, a collector sanctioned by the US since 2019 for funding Hezbollah. The charges, brought by the Metropolitan Police’s National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, cover transactions from October 2020 to December 2021, with artwork valued at approximately £140,000 ($186,000). Ojiri, who owned a namesake gallery in East London and appeared as an art expert on BBC’s Bargain Hunt, allegedly filled out paperwork in other individuals' names to disguise Ahmad’s ownership of the works.

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dealer oghenochuko ojiri jail sentence hezbollah financier 1234744561

London art dealer Oghenochuko Ojiri has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison for failing to declare that he sold artworks to Nazem Ahmad, a collector sanctioned by the US government since 2019 for financing Hezbollah. Ojiri pleaded guilty in May to eight charges of failing to disclose potential terrorist financing under the Terrorism Act 2000, marking the first conviction under this specific offense. Evidence showed Ojiri researched Ahmad's identity, saved him as 'Moss Collector' in his contacts to obscure the relationship, and ignored a colleague's warning, all while continuing transactions to boost his gallery's reputation.