Are artists being lied to by the art market?
I didn’t realise or even think about it until a fellow artists mentioned it to me this week. That high end art is a prime source for money laundering.
Due to many factors, such as lack of regulation, the opacity of transactions, high value of art allows for large sums of money to flow and anonymity.
“It can be hidden or smuggled, transactions often are private, and prices can be subjective and manipulated—and extremely high.” Peter D. Hardy, a former US prosecutor who now advises corporations and industries on compliance with anti-money-laundering requirements.
After a slew of recent cases in the United States and Europe, the momentum toward a crackdown on illicit art and antiquities deals is growing. The legitimate art market is itself enormous—estimated at $67.4 billion worldwide at the end of 2018. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the underground art market, which includes thefts, fakes, illegal imports, and organized looting, may bring in as much as $6 billion annually. The portion attributed to money laundering and other financial crimes is in the $3 billion range. The Art of money laundering 2019
What are implications of this on artists? huge because it’s creating a false economy, with unattainable goals, that is formed on a foundation of lies.
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