A British TV Art Expert Who Sold Works to a Suspected Hezbollah Financier is Sentenced to Prison

FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa
FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa
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A British TV Art Expert Who Sold Works to a Suspected Hezbollah Financier is Sentenced to Prison

FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa
FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa

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.
At a previous hearing, Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, had pleaded guilty to eight offenses under the Terrorism Act 2000. The art sales for about 140,000 pounds ($185,000) to Nazem Ahmad, a diamond and art dealer sanctioned by the UK and US as a Hezbollah financier, took place between October 2020 and December 2021. The sanctions were designed to prevent anyone in the UK or US from trading with Ahmad or his businesses, The Associated Press said.
Ojiri, who also appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, faced a possible sentence of five years in prison in the hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court, which is better known as the Old Bailey.
In addition to the prison term, Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said Ojiri faces an additional year on license — a period of time after a prison sentence ends when an offender must stay out of trouble or risk going back to prison.
She told Ojiri he had been involved in a commercial relationship “for prestige and profit” and that until his involvement with Ahmad, he was “someone to be admired.”
“You knew about Ahmad’s suspected involvement in financing terrorism and the way the art market can be exploited by someone like him," she said. "This is the nadir — there is one direction your life can go and I am confident that you will not be in front of the courts again.”
The Met’s investigation into Ojiri was carried out alongside Homeland Security in the US, which is conducting a wider investigation into alleged money laundering by Ahmad using shell companies.
“This prosecution, using specific Terrorism Act legislation, is the first of its kind and should act as a warning to all art dealers that we can, and will, pursue those who knowingly do business with people identified as funders of terrorist groups,” said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.
Ahmad was sanctioned in 2019 by the US Treasury, which said he was a prominent Lebanon-based money launderer involved in smuggling blood diamonds, which are mined in conflict zones and sold to finance violence.
Two years ago, the UK Treasury froze Ahmad’s assets because he financed Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite militant organization that has been designated an international terrorist group.
Following Ojiri's arrest in April 2023, the Met obtained a warrant to seize a number of artworks, including a Picasso and Andy Warhol paintings, belonging to Ahmad and held in two warehouses in the UK The collection, valued at almost 1 million pounds, is due to be sold with the funds to be reinvested back into the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office.



Sisi Calls for Coordination between Libyan Parties to Set Roadmap

Sisi meets Haftar and his sons Saddam and Khalid in the presence of the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence. (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi meets Haftar and his sons Saddam and Khalid in the presence of the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence. (Egyptian Presidency)
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Sisi Calls for Coordination between Libyan Parties to Set Roadmap

Sisi meets Haftar and his sons Saddam and Khalid in the presence of the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence. (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi meets Haftar and his sons Saddam and Khalid in the presence of the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has called for increased coordination among Libyan factions to establish a clear political roadmap aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis.

This came during his meeting on Monday with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander of Libya’s National Army, in the new city of Al-Alamein on Egypt’s northwestern coast. Major General Hassan Rashad, also attended.

The talks focused on several pressing issues, including foreign interference in Libya, the stalled political roadmap, and the disruption of general elections. Both sides stressed the importance of stabilizing Libya, with Egypt stressing that Libya’s security is integral to its own national security. According to Egyptian presidential spokesperson Ambassador Mohamed El-Shenawy, Egypt is fully committed to supporting Libyan efforts to maintain unity, sovereignty, and to resume development.

Sisi also highlighted the necessity of preserving the unity and cohesion of Libya’s state institutions and stressed the need for all parties to coordinate in order to create a comprehensive political roadmap that would pave the way for simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.

Libyan political analyst Youssef Hosseini noted that this visit coincides with three major regional shifts: the end of the Iran-Israel conflict and attempts to reshape the regional order, unprecedented security deterioration in western Libya with fears of expanded militia warfare, and escalating economic tensions over Eastern Mediterranean water rights amid disputes between Türkiye, Greece, and Egypt. Libya firmly rejects Greek offshore drilling near Crete, reaffirming its sovereign rights in the region.

The Egyptian presidency also underscored the importance of confronting foreign interventions and called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya. It praised the Libyan army’s national role in combating terrorism, especially in eastern Libya.

A Libyan academic, speaking anonymously, described the meeting as crucial amid intense international rivalry over Libya, emphasizing the need for Egypt to play a greater role in supporting Libya’s security institutions and unifying its military forces.

Haftar, for his part, expressed deep appreciation for Egypt’s pivotal role in restoring Libya’s security and stability, praising its longstanding support for the Libyan people and efforts to share developmental expertise through Egyptian companies.

His visit follows a meeting with Sisi six months ago, focusing on key principles for a secure transition in Libya.

Meanwhile, the UN advisory committee overseeing Libya’s transition has proposed four potential political roadmaps: holding presidential and legislative elections within two years; electing a bicameral legislature within two years; adopting a constitution before elections, which includes reviewing the controversial 2017 draft; or activating a dialogue mechanism to replace current political bodies with a constituent assembly chosen through consensus.

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