As modern criminal lawyers, we have found that the art and antiquities trade deserves close attention. This multi-billion-dollar market increasingly gives rise to questions of criminal law. For instance, how should domestic laws combat art fraud carried out on cryptocurrency platforms? How are private collectors to guard against purchasing ‘blood antiquities’ linked to transnational organised crime? And how does the international community respond to the destruction of cultural heritage in conflict zones? According to studies, the annual transaction volume in art and antiquities is approximately $60 billion. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the contemporary art market proved remarkably resilient and witnessed an appreciation in the region of 15.1%. Post-pandemic, the art market continues to boom, with projections pointing towards more economic growth in the wings. The imperviousness of the art market to economic decline may owe to the proliferation of online auctions in recent years, which not only served as a saving grace during the height of lockdowns, but also established a long-term infrastructure for executing and expediting end-to-end transactions between art houses and purchasers. For buyers and sellers, these are welcome developments. But art market participants would do well to keep an eye of the novel challenges looming on the horizon. In terms of digitisation, the focus falls inevitably on the digital marketplace. A significant inflection point for the global economy, the digital marketplace has revolutionised our commercial practices. It has provided new platforms for transacting, which have expanded and accelerated business operations internationally. But its advent has also initiated strict controls at the domestic level, which often take the form of complex legal and regulatory regimes targeting a triad of evils: money laundering, terrorism financing and antiquities trafficking. Whilst necessary, these legal frameworks impose stringent duties on art market participants, which can create obstacles in terms of compliance, due diligence and risk management. SPECIAL FEATURE 37 Special Feature The lucrative international art market continues to draw attention from organised criminal elements, and with them extensive regulation. What new challenges does the art world face amid rising digitalisation and continuing global conflict? Below, Professor Felicity Gerry KC & Fahrid Chishty take a close look at these developments and their impact on cultural heritage. Crime inArt Law: Digitalisation, Trafficking& Destruction
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