An art dealer from London – 53-year-old Oghenochuko Ojiri, has become the first person to be convicted of a specific offence under section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000 in the United Kingdom (UK).
Ojiri had been charged following an investigation into terrorist financing by officers from the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, part of London Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command.
Oghenochuko Ojiri
Oghenochuko Ojiri
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to all the charges. He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, 6 June.
Following authorisation by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), he was charged with eight counts of failing to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector, contrary to section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000. The charges relate to a period from October 2020 to December 2021.
He was first arrested on Tuesday, 18 April 2023 in Wales. The charges relate to the sale of art to Nazem Ahmad who had been sanctioned by the UK Treasury, suspected of financing Hezbollah, a terrorist group proscribed by the UK Government. He was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2019.
The investigation was carried out in partnership with the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in HM Treasury, HMRC, and the Metropolitan Police’s Arts and Antiques Unit.