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Tearful Russian billionaire who spent $2 billion on art tells jurors Sotheby's cheated him (abcnews.go.com)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Does the second half actually explain how it works? Because the first half, which was all I could read, doesn't really explain how they get the clean money back.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

From another article I found:

Art money laundering is a process where illegally obtained funds are disguised as legitimate income through purchasing and selling artworks. It works by exploiting the unique features of the art world, such as its lack of regulation, the opacity of transactions, and the high value of art pieces.

Purchasing artworks: The first step in art money laundering is to purchase an artwork using illegally obtained funds. This can be done through a shell company or anonymous trust to hide the true owner of the artwork. A work of art purchased from a museum is transported to any freeport or a high-security warehouse near airports. Artwork can be kept here for years without damage. As a result, the work to you disappears out of sight. At this point, free ports make the act of disappearance much easier. In addition, as long as they are kept in the warehouses in these ports, the works of art are considered in transit, and therefore tax is avoided. Artifacts here can be sold privately and anonymously, even without leaving the port.
Inflating prices: The launderer may then inflate the price of the artwork through a series of artificial transactions to make it appear as though the artwork has increased in value. At this point, if the buyer is willing to pay high prices, the value of the work can be sold at a much higher price.
Hiding ownership: The launderer may also hide the true owner of the artwork by transferring it to another shell company or anonymous trust. This makes it difficult for authorities to trace the ownership of the artwork and the source of its funds.
Selling the artwork: The final step in art money laundering is to sell the artwork for its inflated price, effectively disguising the illegal funds as legitimate income.

Due to the special nature of the works and the transactions taking place, it becomes difficult for governments to monitor and control the sales. The transactions made can be sent to the destination country via many countries by invoicing low values. Transactions across multiple countries make the job even more complex.