Two paintings by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, previously owned by a wealthy art collector suspected of financing Hezbollah, are set to be sold, with the proceeds being reinvested into the police, according to Scotland Yard.
The artworks were seized from Nazem Ahmad, who has been designated by US authorities as a suspected financier for the Lebanese organisation. Hezbollah has been banned as a terrorist group in the UK since 2019.
Mr Ahmad, based in Lebanon, was sanctioned by the UK Government under counter-terrorism rules in 2023.
BBC Bargain Hunt art expert Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, sold artworks worth around £140,000 to Mr Ahmad and failed to report the sales.
Ojiri was arrested in Wrexham, North Wales, on April 18 2023, the same day the Government announced sanctions against Mr Ahmad, and on Friday was jailed for two-and-a-half years for eight offences under section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000.
After Ojiri, of Brent, north-west London, was sentenced, the Metropolitan Police revealed that in 2023 they had obtained a warrant to seize several artworks belonging to Mr Ahmad which were kept in two warehouses in the UK.
The artworks, including a Picasso and Andy Warhol paintings, were seized on May 4 2023.
Later that year, the National Terrorist Financing Investigation Unit got a forfeiture order which allowed it to seize the artworks.
Valued at almost £1 million, the pieces are due to be sold, officers said, and the money will be used by the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office.
The full set of Andy Warhol’s Flowers was sold at auction for 2.3 million dollars (£1.7 million) on April 19 2023, according to Christie’s website.
Bethan David, head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division, said: “It is 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 Mr 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.”
Ojiri has appeared on a number of BBC shows including Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip.
He described himself as “absolutely obsessed” with collecting contemporary art in a BBC Q&A.
He has previously worked as an auctioneer and is known for championing African and European contemporary art.
