Month: September 2024

AC Urges the Public to Watch Closely: Ensuring Museum Accountability in Repatriation

Posted on by Helena Arose

Museum actions speak louder than announcements, especially when it comes to taking accountability for past wrongs.

While the return of an object to a country of origin is important, it is only one part of a comprehensive, ethical, and transparent provenance program.While the return of an object to a country of origin is important, it is only one part of a comprehensive, ethical, and transparent provenance program. Other important steps include proactive collections research, open and honest communication and collaboration with stakeholders, updating policy for the 21st century, and following not only the letter, but the spirit of the law.

As  public institutions, museums owe this to their local, national and international, public audiences. Until then, the public should feel empowered to hold museums accountable, and should follow the their repatriation efforts closely. The AC is watching this space, and we encourage the public to do the same.

Read our recent LinkedIn article on the Met’s actions vs. announcements here and below, and follow the AC for more.

United States Strengthens Border Security to Intercept Stolen Ukrainian Cultural Treasures

Posted on by Helena Arose

New Regulations Seek to Fight Plunder and Pillage During Russian Invasion

The U.S. Government announced September 10, 2024 that it is imposing emergency import restrictions on at-risk art and antiquities from Ukraine, in a major victory for both the country’s cultural heritage and its people.

These new regulations require additional documentation to demonstrate certain cultural objects were legally exported from the country, following growing evidence of a rampant illicit trade by Russian forces and collaborators. If this paperwork is not provided, U.S. authorities may detain, seize, forfeit, and eventually repatriate the pieces. Ukraine officially requested such measures under the main international treaty to combat cultural racketeering, the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

“Border security is a first line of defense against all trafficking, including cultural racketeering,” said Deborah Lehr, Chairman and Founder of the Antiquities Coalition. “Closing U.S. markets to stolen goods fights the illicit trade, while protecting consumers, be they individual collectors, dealers, or museums. These regulations will help to ensure that no American citizen unknowingly supports Russia’s campaign of violence against Ukraine and its rich heritage.”

During the invasion of Ukraine, in a policy orchestrated from the top by Vladimir Putin himself, cultural heritage has become an effective weapon of war. Historical propaganda has long been a central component of Moscow’s information warfare campaign. However, since the 2014 invasion of Crimea, art has likewise been a documented tool for key Kremlin allies to evade sanctions, launder money, and hide their substantial assets. In addition, invading forces and opportunistic criminals alike are looting archaeological sites and museums in conflict zones, material that is already (and frequently) surfacing on the U.S. market. While priceless to the Ukrainian people, these treasures are also a valuable commodity, further undermining the sanctions regime by directly funding the cash-strapped Russian State and its violent aggression. Finally, Russia is attacking the Ukrainian people by targeting their cultural heritage for destruction—an atrocity crime in and of itself, as well as a warning sign of impending genocide. 

As with all global problems, all nations have a role to play. However, since the United States remains the largest art market in the world, it has a particular opportunity to make a difference. Border controls like these are a much needed tool for law enforcement to identify and intercept looted and stolen cultural property. At the same time, they impose little added burden on legitimate importers.

To learn more about closing U.S. markets to illicit antiquities: https://theantiquitiescoalition.org/developing-implementing-solutions/closing-u-s-markets-to-illicit-antiquities/

Art Market Loopholes Again Threaten U.S. Economic Integrity and National Security

Posted on by Helena Arose

Federal Indictment Charges Kremlin Allies with Money Laundering and Sanctions Evasion

On September 5, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed two criminal indictments charging dual U.S.-Russian citizens with multiple felonies for using art, antiques, and other methods to violate sanctions imposed after the 2022 illegal invasion of Ukraine—a scheme that also allowed the married couple to launder at least $1 million through the U.S. financial system. 

Dimitri and Anastasia Simes allegedly provided services to and received substantial benefits from sanctioned Russian individuals and entities, including Channel One Russia, the state-controlled television network, and oligarch Aleksandr Udodov. Anastasia, specifically, is charged with committing these crimes for Udodov through the purchase of art and antiques from over 30 dealers and galleries in both the United States and Europe, exploiting the global art market’s lack of regulation and transparency. Udodov, reportedly a close friend of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, is an entrepreneur with “mysterious wealth,” who was sanctioned by the U.S. government in February 2023. He was previously investigated by both Swiss authorities and Aleksei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation. 

While both of the Simes remain at large, their indictment sends a strong message that the U.S. government is beginning to crack down on financial crimes in the U.S. art market, which remains the largest in the world. It is also arguably the largest unregulated market in the world making its participants highly vulnerable to criminal misuse. This is because the American art market remains largely excluded from the Bank Secrecy Act, the main U.S. anti-money laundering statute, which currently protects every industry of comparable risk and scale. The Simeses are not the only bad actors to take advantage of this gap—previous law enforcement and media investigations have revealed similar schemes by Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, close associates of Vladimir Putin himself, as well as Nazem Ahmad, a high-profile Lebanese collector turned Hezbollah financier.

“We commend the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture Task Force for its work on this case,” said Deborah Lehr, Chairman and Founder of the Antiquities Coalition. “The US art market remains a means for evading US sanctions and it is time for the Congress to close this loophole.”

Access the 2024 DOJ Indictments here.

Read more about how the U.S. art market remains a “Sanctions Black Hole.”