Bargain Hunt expert jailed for selling art to suspected Hezbollah financier

A former Bargain Hunt art expert has been jailed for two years and six months for failing to declare art he sold to a suspected financier of Hezbollah.

In the first prosecution of its kind, Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, admitted eight counts under the Terrorism Act 2000 of failing to make a disclosure during the course of business before his sentencing at the Old Bailey on Friday. Hezbollah is a group proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK.

Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Ojiri had been aware the art he had sold was to Nazem Ahmad, who had been sanctioned in 2019 by the US authorities.

"These offences are so severe that only a custodial sentence can be justified," she said.

"Your hard work, talent and charisma has brought you a great deal of success... you knew you should not have been dealing with that man."

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb added there was no evidence Ojiri supported any form of extremism but that his conduct undermined the detection of terrorist financing.

Gavin Irwin, representing Ojiri, said the art expert's "humiliation is complete" with the star losing "his good name" and the "work he loves."

"He'd like to apologise for undermining trust" in the art market, Mr Irwin said, adding Ojiri had been naïve.

Ojiri's motivation appeared "to be financial along with a broader desire to boost his gallery's reputation within the art market by dealing with such a well-known collector," said Bethan David, head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division.

"This prosecution is believed to be the first of its kind, and the CPS will not hesitate to bring criminal charges against individuals who flout the law in this way."

At today's sentencing hearing Lyndon Harris, for the prosecution, said "analysis of Ojiri's phone revealed Mr Ahmad was in his contacts as 'Moss Collector', a name deliberately chosen to disguise the art collector as one of his contacts."

The Old Bailey heard how Mr Ahmad had sent Ojiri messages on email and Instagram. "The defendant engaged in sales discussions and sales with Nazem Ahmad and his associates" over a 14-month period.

He explained how Ojiri's arrest came after people working in the art market were brought into the regulated sector in 2020, meaning they were bound by anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures to report suspicious transactions or face prosecution.

The TV star was charged under a section of the Terrorism Act 2000 that has never been used before. Police hope it will send a clear message to those doing business in the art world.