While some use art to awaken their imagination or express themselves, others see it as a great way to invest. You can argue about the taste in art or what piece to put in your living room, but one thing’s for sure: art has always been a part of luxury and an entry into the elite. It also comes with a huge price tag and a possible risk factor. In this article, we discuss how identity verification helps combat fraud in the art market.
That said, authorities fear that the more valuable the art piece is, the bigger chance of money laundering it brings. To make the art market more transparent, in 2020, a new Anti-money laundering (AML) legislation was introduced, helping reduce the risks of high-value transactions. The law set upgraded boundaries for art market participants, requiring them to conduct identity verification.
The Art Market and Compliance
Even though some tend to believe that identity verification is mostly implemented in the Financial sector, it’s now becoming a mainstream procedure in various industries, including the Transport industry, Healthcare, and the Education sector.
Some industries require identity verification due to age restrictions. In general, this procedure is vital, as it helps reduce many risks, including money laundering or terrorist financing. The art market isn’t an exception. Here, security is ensured by verifying that buyers and intermediaries involved in the sale of artwork are who they say they are. All thanks to KYC and AML regulations.
What is the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive?
The art trade was redefined when the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) was brought into force in January 2020. It regulates art dealers, galleries, and auction houses in the EU as well as the United Kingdom.
This law-defined battle with financial crimes requires record keeping and taking action toward fraud prevention. The most significant change was made for transactions meeting or exceeding €10,000 – the obligatory additional security check – identity verification – was added to the list forcing companies to adapt and take a risk-based approach.
Changing Laws Bring New Challenges
Wanting to strengthen existing AML provisions, the European Union came up with the 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD) which was legally enabled on the 3rd of June, 2021. With the aim to empower organizations to fight harder, the newest directive toughened the penalties for non-compliance.
For instance, 6AMLD introduced a minimum four-year prison sentence, whereas the previous minimum was a year. In addition, businesses, including players from the art market, now can be banned from accessing public funding opportunities.
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What is the Responsible Art Market?
A group of art enthusiasts and businesses formed the Responsible Art Market Initiative (RAM) in 2016. The organization reviews the regulations and shares the best practices by increasing public trust in the art market. To this day, the goal is to help spot the risks in the market as well as provide guidance on how to deal with operations and reputational threats.
In other words, RAM provides practical and ethical directions to simplify confusing and constantly changing regulations. The Responsible Art Market doesn’t follow a certification scheme, which means that companies can subscribe or pay attention to its guidelines voluntarily. The initiative encourages companies to adopt legal obligations and ensure AML measures for protection against terrorist financing and money laundering. RAM shares two key points to achieve this goal:
- Companies should use an appropriate risk-based approach when it comes to anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.
- Businesses need to identify the red flags, or the indicators of suspicious activity and in response, take clear action.
RAM explains the most common red flags in the market by dividing them into three categories: Client red flags, Artwork red flags, and Transaction red flags. For example, if the art piece is presented with very little documentation, that’s a signal.
For security reasons and as a way to find out more about the seller, the initiative suggests conducting in-depth technical analyses. Also, if possible, it’s important to check the databases of stolen artwork. For instance, businesses can screen Interpol’s “Works of Art” database or the International Council of Museums’ “Red Lists” database.
Money Laundering In The Art World
With lots of secrecy and less regulation, the art market has always been on the verge of being beautiful and ugly. For example, trying to avoid paying taxes isn’t at the top of the criminal behavior list. Not sticking to Anti Money Laundering and Know Your Customer regulations raises even more concerns, especially when we’re talking about the continuing issue of money laundering through art.
Many concerns arise due to extremely large transaction numbers. According to Artsy, 2021 wasn’t an exception. Here are the Top 3 notoriously expensive art pieces:
- With the most expensive art piece that was auctioned off for $103.41 million and a nearly 20-minute battle between two bidders, Pablo Picasso took the first place for Femme assise près d’une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse) (1932).
- In the 1980s, art critic Robert Hughes names Basquiat’s Expressionist work absurd. Fast-forwarding to 2021, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s last piece of the trinity “Skull” collection took the silver medal with In This Case (1983) landing a $93.105.000 deal in Christie’s marquee spring sales.
- An Italian Early Renaissance icon, Sandro Botticelli, hit the auction with a bang last year taking third place for Portrait of a young man holding a roundel (ca. 1470–80). It was sold for $92.1 million at a January Sotheby’s sale while the painter’s previous record of $10.4 million was achieved back in 2013.
With such enormous numbers, identity verification is vital, as it brings security benefits to the art market. Not to mention the fact that up to this day, the buyers’ identities can be shielded, either by middlemen or shell companies.
Buyers are also not obliged to carry out anti-money laundering checks on their sellers. As more companies value security and are becoming aware of its importance, in 2022, there’s a larger expectation that art will be sold legally as well as ethically.
Lack Of Compliance: The Aftermath
A recent survey shows that 85% of Americans are likely to stick with a business even during a brand crisis if its history is based on transparency. According to the Kearney Consumer Institute, honesty and consistency are the main ethical components that build trust between a company and its consumers.
In the cyber security sphere of the art market, the logic principle is the same. AML and KYC compliance is the core base that can’t be ignored; otherwise, failing to comply with regulations might lead to inconsistency and loss of reputation.
The art business is affected by regulations that aren’t optional anymore. The AML regulations set strict boundaries and legal requirements. According to an AML compliance expert, Rena Neville, maintaining a regulatory routine is a must in the art market, as failing to comply can even lead up to an imprisonment penalty.
To avoid the unwanted aftermath, art galleries, advisors, or auction houses need to follow the advice to stick to the rules.
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A High Demand for Digital Solutions
Despite the AML regulations and the efforts to stop fraud, there hasn’t been a significant reduction in the amount of money that’s being laundered. For instance, the UK government reports that £219 million was recovered in the total proceeds of crime from Confiscation Orders, Forfeiture Orders, and Civil Recovery Orders receipts in 2021. That’s why there’s a high demand for digital solutions, and the art market isn’t an exception. Many events are now happening online, including auctions or even virtual gallery openings.
Due to the change of scenery, the market has been forced to seek innovative opportunities which have already increased its reach over the past decade. Of course, this leads us to identity verification and the need to make sure that the person who’s buying art isn’t attempting to buy an art piece through a false identity.
The same principle goes for art sellers. Online transactions give the opportunity for criminals to use fake documents to sell valuables and launder money. Recent predictions show that by 2026, the number of identity checks globally will reach 92 billion versus the 45 billion made in 2021.
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What are the Pros of Online Identity Verification?
Monitoring shifty behavior and implementing face-matching software are some of the ways to reduce risks and protect the art business from those who are attempting to buy valuable pieces under a false identity.
With the mentioned Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, one of the steps to prevent money laundering in the art market is Customer Due Diligence (CDD). It requires the art market participants to verify their identity, bringing many benefits to the table:
- Trust. It’s the key value in most modern businesses that strive to maintain a steady relationship with their clients. With identity verification in the art market, art lovers are protected from money laundering. This factor also helps the company with maintaining a high reputation.
- Positive experience. With a safe and quick identity verification process, many customers bring value to the company by recommending the service or wanting to buy more. Many businesses, including the art market, overcome this difficulty by choosing online identity verification services.
- Maximized security. The laws were created for a reason. Since there are some weaknesses in human control measures, online identity verification helps automate the process and improve accuracy rates. Only skilled specialists have the experience to actually see if the document is real or stolen. That’s why, in the art world, it’s easier to identify the buyers and let the software check the authenticity of the document.
Art and Identity Verification: The Challenges
Art dealers bump into security-threatening challenges. For example, they need to familiarize themselves with the security features of common identity documents. When conducting in-person identity checks, art lovers should be aware of the possibility of suspicious activity. Usually, art dealers lookout for imposters, as many passports can be genuine but belong to another person.
Outsourcing and choosing an online identity verification solution is the most reliable choice in the art market. Purchasing and selling valuable art isn’t easy on its own.
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