Cut price Hunt knowledgeable admits failing to report gross sales to ‘Hezbollah financier’

An artwork knowledgeable who has labored on the BBC’s Cut price Hunt has admitted failing to report a sequence of high-value artwork gross sales to a person suspected of financing the proscribed group Hezbollah.

Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, pleaded responsible to eight counts below the Terrorism Act 2000 of failing to make a disclosure in the course of the course of enterprise, the primary prosecution of its variety.

The court docket heard on Friday that Ojiri offered paintings price £140,000 to Nazem Ahmad, who’s accused of supporting the Lebanon-based group and was sanctioned by the US in 2019.

Lyndon Harris, prosecuting, mentioned Ojiri had learn information experiences exhibiting Ahmad had been sanctioned and mentioned this with different individuals.

The offences came about between October 2020 and December 2021.

Ojiri based Ramp Gallery, now referred to as the Ojiri Gallery, primarily based in east London.

Mr Harris mentioned: “There’s one dialogue the place Ojiri is celebration to a dialog the place it’s obvious lots of people have recognized for years about [Ahmad’s] terrorism hyperlinks.”

He added that “Ramp Gallery engaged a 3rd celebration to advise on compliance issues” however that the recommendation given was “not correctly acted on”.

Westminster Magistrates’ Courtroom heard that Ojiri “handled Mr Ahmad immediately, negotiated the gross sales of paintings and congratulated him on purchases”.

Ahmad was additionally sanctioned by the UK authorities in 2023, which froze his belongings and banned UK nationals from doing enterprise with him or his firms. That restriction was imposed after the offences involving Ojiri.

On the time, the UK authorities mentioned Ahmad had “an in depth artwork assortment within the UK” and performed enterprise “with a number of UK-based artists, artwork galleries and public sale homes”.

Hezbollah is a Shia Muslim political and navy group in Lebanon and is backed by Iran. It’s proscribed as a terrorist organisation by nations together with the UK and the US.

Ojiri, also called Ochuko Ojiri, was charged following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s specialist arts and antiques unit, alongside the Workplace of Monetary Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) and HMRC.

Underneath the laws, it’s an offence if individuals don’t notify police in the event that they know or suspect a enterprise affiliate to have been concerned in financing a proscribed group.

Ojiri is listed on Cut price Hunt’s web site as one of many present’s consultants.

He’s not a member of BBC employees, works as a contract presenter and has additionally appeared on Antiques Highway Journey and Channel 5’s Storage: Flog the Lot! He has not labored on BBC programmes since 2023.

District Choose Briony Clarke granted Ojiri bail however ordered him to give up his passport. Gavin Irwin, mitigating, instructed the court docket Ojiri was not a flight danger.

He might be sentenced on the Previous Bailey on 6 June.