The government is seeking views from the art and antiques market on how new anti-money laundering laws will impact the trade, writes Laura Chesters.
The European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive will come into effect by January next year and is designed to make the transfer of assets more transparent and to encourage the reporting of suspicious activity.
Among the changes is the requirement to verify identities and conduct appropriate due diligence checks for transactions of €10,000 or more, as well as any series of lower-value ‘linked transactions’ that can add up to €10,000 or more, irrespective of the method of payment. Previously in the UK, such checks were necessary only for cash transactions of €10,000 or more.