US EditionBargain Hunt expert Oghenochuko Ojiri jailed after failing to report sale of artworks to Hezbollah 'financier'
- Oghenochuko Ojiri, a 53-year-old BBC Bargain Hunt art expert, was jailed for two-and-a-half years at the Old Bailey on June 6, 2025, for failing to report art sales in London.
- Ojiri sold approximately £140,000 worth of artworks from late 2020 through the end of 2021 to Nazem Ahmad, a UK- and US-sanctioned individual suspected of financing the militant group Hezbollah.
- Ojiri admitted to committing eight violations under the Terrorism Act 2000 related to his failure to disclose information about art sales, which involved multiple artists' works sent to locations including Beirut and Dubai.
- Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb sentenced Ojiri to 2.5 years imprisonment plus one year on licence, while investigators seized nearly £1 million worth of artworks from Ahmad’s UK warehouses, including pieces by Picasso and Warhol.
- This landmark case marks the first time charges under a particular provision of the Terrorism Act have been brought, underscoring law enforcement’s determination to pursue individuals who knowingly engage in transactions with those suspected of funding terrorist organizations, with Commander Dominic Murphy warning art dealers accordingly.
62 Articles
62 Articles
Former British TV art expert Oghenochuko Ojiri has admitted that he has concealed several art sales to a suspected financier of Hezbollah. Now he is expected to be sentenced to imprisonment.
An art expert who has appeared in several BBC productions has been sentenced to prison for terrorism offences. He sold art to a man suspected of financing the Islamist Hezbollah movement.
British TV Art Expert Who Sold Works to Suspected Hezbollah Financier is Sentenced to Prison
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. 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. World News | British TV Art Expert Who Sold Works to Suspected Hezbollah Financier is Sentenced to Prison.
British TV expert who sold art to suspected Hezbollah financier sentenced to prison
LONDON -- 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.
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