AC’s Helena Arose Amongst FACT Coalition Anti-Money Laundering Experts
September 5, 2023
The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition has named Helena Arose, the Antiquities Coalition’s Director of Programs, to their list of anti-money laundering experts. Arose’s work with the Antiquities Coalition has centered around collaborating with key stakeholders to fight the illicit trade of ancient art and antiquities as well as financial crimes facilitated by the global art market.
For too long, the looting and trafficking of ancient antiquities has been seen as a victimless crime. However, art and antiquities have financed some of the last century’s worst villains—from the Nazis, to the Khmer Rouge, the IRA, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Daesh (ISIS). Far beyond warzones, criminals are also exploiting the art market’s vulnerabilities to commit a wide range of offenses from fraud to forgery, tax evasion, money laundering, and sanctions violations.
The Antiquities Coalition commends the FACT Coalition for including the fight against this illicit trade into their accountability and transparency efforts and looks forward to future joint efforts to combat cultural racketeering.