Art dealer jailed for failing to report sales to suspected Hizballah financier

As the owner and operator of Ramp Gallery in London, latterly named the Ojiri Gallery, Ojiri engaged in discussions with Ahmad about art purchases between 24 October 2020 and 18 December 2021. 

During that time, eight purchases were completed. The paperwork recovered showed that, in certain instances, the names inserted on the invoices were names other than Ahmad’s, despite the sale being conducted for and on his behalf.

On 10 January 2020, regulations were amended which made art market participants subject to the terrorist financing money laundering regulations and brought them into the regulated sector. Guidance was produced, approved by His Majesty’s Treasury, in relation to this change in the law as it applied to the art market.  

Following the seizure of Ojiri’s mobile phone, WhatsApp messages were recovered from 31 January 2020 which showed Ojiri discussing the new money laundering regulations with a colleague. 

Analysis of messages and the web history on Ojiri’s mobile phone also showed that he was aware of the financial sanctions by the United States Department of the Treasury against Ahmad due to the latter’s suspected involvement in being a high-level financier of Hizballah. 

Further messages and e-mails showed Ojiri in contact with Ahmad discussing the purchase/sale of artwork. Ojiri also had Ahmad saved as a different name in his mobile phone and invoices relating to the sales of works of art were placed by Ojiri into the names of other individuals despite him dealing directly with Ahmad. 

In police interview, Ojiri apologised for his actions, but denied that money or greed were the motivating factors behind dealing with Ahmed, claiming it was the excitement and kudos of dealing with a ‘name’ in the art collecting world.

Guilty plea entered

On 9 May at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Ojiri pleaded guilty to eight offences of failing to disclose information during the course of business in the regulated sector when knowing, suspecting or having reasonable grounds for suspecting that another person has committed or attempted to commit an offence under Sections 15-18 of the Terrorism Act 2000, contrary to Section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000. 

At the Central Criminal Court on 6 June, Ojiri was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment. 

Believed to be the first of its kind, the prosecution followed an investigation by the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, which is part of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Counter Terrorism Command, alongside the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation in His Majesty’s Treasury, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Metropolitan Police Service’s Arts and Antiques Unit.

Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division, said: “It’s clear that Oghenochuko Ojiri was aware of new money laundering regulations in the art world and that he had knowledge of Nazem Ahmad’s background. Ojiri engaged in activity designed to conceal the identity of the true purchaser by changing the details on invoices and storing Ahmad’s name under a different alias in his mobile phone. His motivation appears to be financial along with a broader desire to boost his gallery’s reputation within the art market by dealing with such a well-known collector.”

David added: “This prosecution is believed to be the first of its kind. The Crown Prosecution Service will not hesitate to bring criminal charges against individuals who flout the law in this way.”

Warning to art dealers

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Counter Terrorism Command, explained: “Using specific Terrorism Act legislation, this prosecution 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 suspected funders of terrorist groups.”

Murphy continued: “Oghenochuko Ojiri wilfully obscured the fact he knew that he was selling artwork to Nazem Ahmad, someone who has been sanctioned by the UK and US Treasury and described as a funder of the proscribed terrorist group Hizballah.”

In conclusion, Murphy noted: “Financial investigation is a crucial part of the counter-terrorism effort. A team of specialist investigators, analysts and researchers in the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit works all year round to prevent money from reaching the hands of terrorists or being used to fund attacks.”