LONDON (AP) — An art expert who appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt show pleaded guilty Friday to failing to report that he sold pricey works to a suspected financier of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.
Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, was charged with failing to disclose art sales between October 2020 and December 2021. He pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates’ Court to eight offences under a section of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Ojiri sold about 140,000 pounds ($185,000) of artworks to Nazem Ahmad, a diamond and art dealer sanctioned by the U.K. and U.S. as a Hezbollah financier. The sanctions were designed to prevent anyone in the U.K. or U.S. from doing business with Ahmad or his businesses.
U.S. prosecutors said Ahmad acquired more than $160 million (120 million pounds) in artwork and diamond services by using a complex web of companies to evade sanctions.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Ojiri knew about the sanctions against Ahmad because he had searched for news reports about his status and discussed it with others.
“There is one discussion where Mr. Ojiri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about his terrorism links,” Harris said.
Ahmad was sanctioned in 2019 by the U.S. Treasury, which said he was a prominent Lebanon-based money launderer involved in smuggling blood diamonds, which are mined in conflict zones and sold to finance violence.
Two years ago, the U.K. Treasury froze Ahmad’s assets because he financed the Iranian-backed Shiite militant organization that has been designated an international terrorist group.
Ojiri, who also appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced June 6 in the Central Criminal Court.
Art dealer Oghenochuko Ojiri walks outside Westminster Magistrates' Court, London, on Friday May 9, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)
U.S. bobsledder Kris Horn survived a frightening ride down the track in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Sunday, after his three teammates failed to make it into the four-man sled at the start of a World Cup race.
Horn, the driver, got in first, as is common in bobsled. But his three teammates — Ryan Rager, Hunter Powell and Caleb Furnell — all had trouble getting in, leaving Horn to navigate the course with no other weight in the sled and nobody to pull the brakes at the bottom.
Rager appeared to be the first to stumble, and the domino effect took over from there. Powell appeared to get thrown somewhat violently toward the track wall, hitting his back on the hardpacked icy surface after he couldn't get into the sled, and Furnell couldn't make his way into his spot either. None of the U.S. sliders suffered serious injuries and all X-rays taken came back negative, the team said.
“A little sore,” Powell told The Associated Press. “I should be fine in a couple days.”
Without any weight in the sled, Horn basically careened down the track but still reached a speed of around 75 mph (120 kph) during the run that lasted just over a minute. Horn drove the sled across the finish line, then had the presence of mind to scoot toward the back of the sled and pull the brake handles.
Athletes and coaches from several different national teams rushed to the finish line to ensure that Horn was fine as the sled skidded to a stop; some simply shook his hand and nodded their heads in disbelief. Horn — whose start in bobsledding was as a brakeman, so he knew what to do — waved to the nearby television cameras to show he was OK.
“We are fortunate it wasn't worse,” USA Bobsled head coach Chris Fogt said in a text message.
It was a rough weekend for Horn, who also crashed out of the two-man World Cup race on Saturday. His brakeman for that race, Carsten Vissering, suffered abrasions and was unable to compete on Sunday in the four-man. Rager took Vissering's spot on the four-man sled.
There is one World Cup race weekend left before USA Bobsled and Skeleton picks its team for next month's Milan Cortina Olympics. Horn is expected to be named to the team as one of the men's bobsled drivers, along with Frank Del Duca.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Kristopher Horn/ Carsten Vissering of the USA in action during the Men's 2-Bob World Cup, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Mayk Wendt/Keystone via AP)
