BBC Star Ojiri Admits Funding Suspected Hezbollah Operative
Look, I don’t want to be the one to break it to you, but BBC presenter Oghenochuko Ojiri has officially thrown himself under the bus by pleading guilty to funneling cash to a suspected Hezbollah financier. In a Manhattan federal courtroom on June 15, Ojiri quietly admitted he knowingly transferred more than $20,000 between late 2022 and early 2023 into Lebanese bank accounts linked to Hani Sarraf, a known Hezbollah money mover. The admission came after months of FBI surveillance, wiretaps and financial forensics that left prosecutors boasting they had “iron-clad evidence,” as U.S. Attorney Lisa Marquez bluntly put it at a press briefing. I told you so.
It wasn’t exactly a shocking plot twist for anyone who followed the arrest back in March, when Ojiri was cuffed at JFK Airport carrying two passports and an overstuffed briefcase. Federal agents had tailed him from his London flat—complete with panoramic Thames views—right to his transatlantic flight, producing bank statements and encrypted chat logs in the process. So yes, the “unexpected BBC star scandal” angle was wildly oversold by clickbait outlets, but here we are with a guilty plea on record. He’s now staring down a maximum of 20 years in prison, though legal eagles reckon a cooperation deal could cut that sentence in half.
Before you roll your eyes and switch tabs, note that Ojiri wasn’t some back-alley operator. He’s been a household name on the Beeb’s flagship culture program since 2018, hosting interviews with A-listers and royal correspondents alike. His sudden fall from grace is a textbook reminder that fame can mask all sorts of skeletons. Prosecutors say he claimed the funds were intended for humanitarian projects, but the feds traced the money straight to a Lebanon-based charity chairperson under U.S. sanctions. Photos from an April trip even show Ojiri shaking hands with Sarraf at a dusty roadside checkpoint—a moment the FBI describes in its 45-page indictment.
Public reaction? Predictable outrage on social media (“How could someone so trusted be so reckless?”) met with weary shrugs from veteran observers. Did anyone expect a different outcome? Probably not. The plea deal stipulates Ojiri must forfeit all assets tied to his London property and pay a hefty fine. His defense lawyer insists he was naive, not malicious—but naïveté is the lamest alibi when you’re financing a designated terrorist group. If you needed any more proof that wealth and education aren’t immunity cards, here it is.
So keep your eyes peeled for sentencing scheduled later this fall. And that, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post, Reuters
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
