A new GAO report finds that criminals and terrorists may attempt to use lawyers to launder money.  Cultural property attorneys should be vigilant. A congressional watchdog charges that some arts and antiquities dealers, accountants, and “complicit lawyers” help fuel “money laundering strategies used by transnational criminal organizations and terrorist groups.”   The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) new report, titled TRAFFICKING AND MONEY LAUNDERING: Strategies Used by Criminal Groups and Terrorists and Federal Efforts to Combat Them, serves as a reminder that criminal ne ..read more

Antiquities sellers soon will be covered by the Bank Secrecy Act. FinCen recently completed an advance public comment period over anticipated enforcement rules, sparking debate among heritage advocates, cultural property groups, archaeologists, dealers, auction houses, and museum directors. The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AML Act) is a hot topic in the cultural property world as the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) prepares rules to enforce the new statute. Heritage groups, cultural property advocates, archaeologists, museums, antiquities dealers ..read more

Cultural property on the Moon at Apollo and other sites of space exploration are to be protected by the “One Small Step Act.” Historical artifacts on the moon have rocketed into focus with the passage of the One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act. Introduced in Congress by Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) in May 2019 and enacted into law last month by President Donald Trump, the newly adopted statute aims to preserve cultural property located on the lunar surface. The law requires NASA to include heritage preservation measures in vendor, grantee, and partnership agreements that relat ..read more

Lintels 1 and 2 from the Asian Art Museum. Photo: US Attorney Northern District of California. Lintels allegedly taken unlawfully from Thailand and given to the Asian Art Museum in California are the subject of a federal forfeiture complaint that seeks repatriation of the cultural property. The United States Attorney for the Northern District of California and lawyers for the City and County of San Francisco said yesterday that “a stipulation of settlement is likely forthcoming,” which would end a dispute over the repatriation of two lintels from Thailand located in a San F ..read more

The National Defense Authorization Act’s anti-money laundering sections would shine a light on antiquities trafficking by revealing the true owners of shady antiquities import companies and by enlisting the help of antiquities dealers to report suspicious money transactions under the BSA. Antiquities traffickers will find it difficult to hide smuggled archaeological imports behind anonymous shell companies and shifty payments if a popular bill winding its way through the halls of Congress is enacted into law this year. That would be welcome news to lawyers and law enforcement officials hopin ..read more

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued an Advisory calling for due diligence on the part of dealers, museums, and other high-end market participants to comply with U.S. sanctions regulations on blocked persons. When the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) publishes an Advisory that warns a particular business sector to maintain compliance, that typically means the U.S. Treasury Department’s enforcement agency is serious about targeting an identified national security risk. On Friday, OFAC broadcast an alert to “art galleries, museums, private art collectors, auction companies ..read more

Man who arrived at JFK Airport and indicted for allegedly possessing illicit Egyptian artifacts had unfair jury panel, defense lawyer suggests. Ancient Egyptian canopic jar lids are some of the antiquities seized by Homeland Security. “Loose sand or dirt came out of the suitcases as they were opened,” and there was the smell of “wet earth,” recited the arrest warrant affidavit filed in U.S. v. Eldarir, an antiquities smuggling case pending in a New York federal district court. Now a veteran defense lawyer has challenged the criminal prosecution by suggesting that the&nb ..read more

Does a potential client want to commit an antiquities trafficking crime? The cultural property lawyer needs to find out. One way cultural heritage traffickers cover their tracks, wash dirty money, and blanket themselves with business legitimacy is by hiring reputable professionals to manage seemingly lawful transactions, which is why accountants, freight forwarders, customs brokers, conservators, dealers, auctioneers, academics, art advisors, and appraisers may be solicited to handle looted and smuggled artifacts. Because traffickers and cash launderers may also try to retain legal couns ..read more

Grand jury indictment from federal court in California claims importer falsely classified ancient archaeological artifact. Mosaic seized by FBI and HSI from Mohamad AlCharihi. Skilled prosecutors keep cases simple. So when U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) attorneys secured an indictment last month in an antiquities trafficking case, they focused on one statute only, Entry of Goods Falsely Classified, 18 U.S.C. 541. The straightforward charge, handed up by a grand jury sitting in the Central District of California, alleges that Mohamad Yassin AlCharihi (a/k/a/ Mohamad al ..read more

A new GAO report finds that criminals and terrorists may attempt to use lawyers to launder money.  Cultural property attorneys should be vigilant. A congressional watchdog charges that some arts and antiquities dealers, accountants, and “complicit lawyers” help fuel “money laundering strategies used by transnational criminal organizations and terrorist groups.” The Government Accountability Office's (GAO) new report, titled TRAFFICKING AND MONEY LAUNDERING: Strategies Used by Criminal Groups and Terrorists and Federal Efforts to Combat Them, serves as a reminder that criminal networks m ..read more