A UK art dealer has pleaded guilty to charges of selling art to a person linked with the terror outfit Hezbollah.
Oghenochuko Ojiri was facing multiple charges related to being in contact and having business deals with collector Nazeem Ahmad. Ahmad has been linked to providing financial aid to the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. As such, he has been under sanctions in the US and the UK for financing terrorism.
Oghenochuko Ojiri, who runs a gallery in East London, pleaded guilty on 8th May to 8 charges of failing to disclose contact with a known terrorist. With this, he became the first person in the UK to be charged under the special offense of Section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000. The authorities said that the 8 charges were related to a period of 14 months, from October 2020 to December 2021.
Oghenochuko Ojiri was accused of selling artworks worth $186,000 to Nazeem. Moreover, it was proven that Ojiri was also personally in touch with Nazeem, including meeting him to congratulate him on an art acquisition. Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said: “At the time of the transactions, Mr. Ojiri knew that Nazem Ahmad had been sanctioned in the U.S. as a suspected terrorist financier. Mr. Ojiri accessed news reports about Mr. Ahmad’s designation and engaged in discussions with others about it, indicating his knowledge or suspicions.”
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Earlier, in 2023, Nazeem Ahmad was already charged for violating and evading the US sanctions levied against him for imports and exports of diamonds and art. It is yet unclear what sentence would be given to Oghenochuko Ojiri.
