We have been writing a lot recently about trends in the global market for fine art. One specific area that deserves attention is steps taken to stamp out laundering illicit funds via the art market, such as through auctions...more
The strength of the US dollar against the British pound – at present, the pound has dropped nearly 18% since the beginning of 2022 – would appear to make the purchase of art and other cultural property in the UK and Europe...more
Consistent with efforts in recent years to apply banking laws to the art market, the prospects of passage of a bill in Congress that would apply those rules to a broad category of advisors and attorneys have recently...more
When Christie’s Auction House first entered the secondary art market of mainland China in 2005, it licensed its brand to a local auction house and received a total of RMB 97,000,000 (roughly $12,100,000) for its inaugural...more
On February 4, 2022, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) jumped into the regulatory discussion about non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) - more with a whisper than a bang - in a report on its...more
On February 4, 2022, the US Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) released the “Study of the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Finance through the Trade in Works of Art” (the Report). The Report examines the...more
After a two-year hiatus, the Responsible Art Market Initiative is planning a return to its in-person annual conference at the end of this month in Geneva. For anyone who has attended RAM events or used its catalogue of...more
We were privileged to file today a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of our client, art dealer Alexander Khochinsky. The petition asks the Court for reinstatement of a lawsuit...more
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today published in the Federal Register notice of proposed regulations related to the implementation of amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)...more
Case Presages Mandatory BSA Obligations for Antiquities Dealers under the AML Act - In the midst of the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent civil instability, thousands of cultural artifacts were stolen from the National...more
On July 28, 2020, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released its findings on the role of the unregulated art market in undermining U.S. sanctions policies and facilitating criminal activity....more
In connection with the late-2020 amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to include “dealers in antiquities” as a result of its inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Treasury Department’s Financial...more
The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “AMLA”), which became law January 2, 2021 with Congress’ override of then President Trump’s veto of the Defense Appropriations Act of 2021 included provisions bringing dealers in...more
On January 1, 2021, the Senate and the House of Representatives voted to override President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2021. The NDAA introduces legislation that allows federal oversight...more
Last week the Trotter chatted with her partner and fellow blog editor, Nick O’Donnell. Nick’s practice focuses primarily on complex civil litigation, for which he has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States....more
In the most consequential update to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) since the 2001 passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, the United States Congress on 11 December passed a wide-ranging bill that broadens and updates the BSA and the U.S....more
As we’ve blogged, high-end artwork can create an ideal vehicle for money laundering. And, as we’ve also blogged, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for the U.S. Senate released in July 2020 a detailed report titled...more
In many ways, the market for valuable art remains one that depends on long-standing relationships and a high degree of familiarity between market participants. The importance of relationships in the art business makes sense....more
Last week, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued an Art Advisory, warning of the sanctions risk presented by high-value artwork transactions due to the anonymity, lack of transparency, mobility of assets, and...more
It would be a truism to note that COVID-19 has had a profound impact on many sectors globally. The art industry, which relies considerably on the human interaction between art dealers, artists, and members of the public, is...more
Robin Pogrebin at the New York Times has written an excellent piece on the news that the Brooklyn Museum intends to sell several works from its collection to raise money. The museum explicitly relies on the pandemic-inspired...more
A congressional report released on July 29, 2020, by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, exposes how Russian oligarchs looking to evade U.S. sanctions are able to exploit loopholes in the art industry....more
A recent report by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (headlined by Chairman Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, and Ranking Member Tom Carper, Democrat of Delaware) has drawn widespread attention...more
Is Art an “Ideal Playing Ground” for Money Laundering? Last week, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for the U.S. Senate released a detailed, 147-page report titled “The Art Industry and U.S. Policies That...more
The Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, or SPK) in Berlin announced that it had agreed to restitute a 1537 painting of the biblical figure Lot by Hans Baldung Grien to the heirs of Hans...more