The art dealer acknowledges guilt for sale for suspect Hezbollah fighters

A London art dealer has recently pledged to sell artworks to a mosque It has been approved by the US government since 2019 To give money to Hezbollah, the Lebanese Armed Group.

Today, Oghenochuko Ojiri pledged guilty of eight charges of failing to reveal possible terrorist financing during a hearing in London. On May 8, it was Metropolitan police accused As “the first person to be accused of a specific crime under Article 21 A of the Terrorism Law 2000.”

The charges occurred after an investigation into terrorist financing by employees from the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit (NTFIU), which is part of the counter -terrorism leadership in the police, in partnership with the Office for the Implementation of Financial Sanctions (Offsi) in the Ministry of Treasury for His Majesty, the revenues of His Majesty and customs (the organization that regulates the arts sector), and a dead stand.

the New York Times I mentioned Ogiri, 53, had an exhibition bearing a name in East London and appeared as an artistic expert at the BBC Antiques Exhibition Dealclotherapy deals And other programs.

Prosecutor Lindon Harris told the court in London that Ogiri sold many artistic works to Nazi Ahmed, and the art dealer was supposed to be Mohamed to be funded by terrorism by the United States and Britain because of Ahmed’s links to Hezbollah and the current sanctions.

Harris also said that, in addition to negotiating the sales of artwork, Ogiri dealt with Ahmed directly and congratulated him on the acquisitions that were transferred to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Beirut.

Harris said: “At the time of transactions, Mr. Ogeiri knew that Nazi Ahmed had been punished in the United States as a suspected terrorist.” “Mr. Ogeiri has reached news reports on the appointment of Mr. Ahmed and participated in discussions with others on this topic, which indicates his knowledge or doubts.”

the New York Times I also stated that in the prosecution documents that summarize the case against Ahman, Ogeiri stated that the art dealer filled the papers associated with art sales of Ahmed by the names of “other individuals proposed by the partners of Mr. Ahmed, in what is alleged to be an attempt to ease the real owner of artwork.”

A Metropolitan Police statement said that the eight charges “relate to October 2020 to December 2021.” Harris said that the value of the artworks that Ogiri sold to Ahmed between October 2020 and January 2022 was about 140,000 pounds ($ 186,000).

In 2023, Ahmed was accused by federal prosecutors of nine charges of violating and evading US sanctions through imports and export of $ 440 million in art and diamonds. Eight others, including many members of his family, were also accused.