Nigerian-British art dealer pleads guilty for terrorist financing after sales to ‘Hezbollah financier’

Oghenochuko Orji, a Nigerian-British art dealer, has pleaded guilty to charges pertaining to terrorism financing after failing to report sales of art to a man allegedly linked to Hezbollah proscribed group.

Orji was arraigned on Friday at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in the United Kingdom on an eight-count charge.

According to BBC, the art dealer pleaded guilty to the charges.

The eight counts were premised on section 21(a) of the Terrorism Act 2000, pertaining to failure to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector. This is the first prosecution case in the UK.

The UK’s metropolitan police said Orji committed the offense between October 2020 and December 2021.

During the court proceedings on Friday,
Lyndon Harris, the prosecutor, said Orji sold artwork worth £140,000 to Nazem Ahmad, a Lebanon resident who had been accused of financing the Hezbollah group.

Ahmad has been on terrorism watch list of the United States since 2019 and the UK in 2023.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim political party and militant group based in Lebanon, where it has fostered a reputation as “a state within a state”.

The Iran-backed group has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the US and many other countries.

Harris said Ojri had read news reports showing Ahmad had been sanctioned and he discussed his findings with other people.

The prosecutor said the art dealer “dealt with Mr Ahmad directly, negotiated the sales of artwork and congratulated him on purchases”.

Harri said Ramp Gallery, the art company founded by Ojri, engaged the services of the third party to seek advice for compliance over the sales but the advice was not acted upon.

“There is one discussion where Ojri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about [Ahmad’s] terrorism links,” the prosecutor said.

Briony Clarke, the district judge, granted Ojri bail but ordered him to surrender his passport. The sentencing will take place at the Old Bailey on June 6.

Orji is very popular among art lovers in the UK. He is one of the show experts for BBC’s Bargain Hunt television programme.