this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2024
162 points (98.2% liked)

World News

39102 readers
2227 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] DessertStorms@kbin.social 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Forgive the source of the image/product, can't be fucked to make my own version, and let me just get out my mug for billionaire tears

[–] DessertStorms@kbin.social 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] hamFoilHat@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Does the second half actually explain how it works? Because the first half, which was all I could read, doesn't really explain how they get the clean money back.

[–] DessertStorms@kbin.social 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

From another article I found:

Art money laundering is a process where illegally obtained funds are disguised as legitimate income through purchasing and selling artworks. It works by exploiting the unique features of the art world, such as its lack of regulation, the opacity of transactions, and the high value of art pieces.

  • Purchasing artworks: The first step in art money laundering is to purchase an artwork using illegally obtained funds. This can be done through a shell company or anonymous trust to hide the true owner of the artwork. A work of art purchased from a museum is transported to any freeport or a high-security warehouse near airports. Artwork can be kept here for years without damage. As a result, the work to you disappears out of sight. At this point, free ports make the act of disappearance much easier. In addition, as long as they are kept in the warehouses in these ports, the works of art are considered in transit, and therefore tax is avoided. Artifacts here can be sold privately and anonymously, even without leaving the port.
  • Inflating prices: The launderer may then inflate the price of the artwork through a series of artificial transactions to make it appear as though the artwork has increased in value. At this point, if the buyer is willing to pay high prices, the value of the work can be sold at a much higher price.
  • Hiding ownership: The launderer may also hide the true owner of the artwork by transferring it to another shell company or anonymous trust. This makes it difficult for authorities to trace the ownership of the artwork and the source of its funds.
  • Selling the artwork: The final step in art money laundering is to sell the artwork for its inflated price, effectively disguising the illegal funds as legitimate income.

Due to the special nature of the works and the transactions taking place, it becomes difficult for governments to monitor and control the sales. The transactions made can be sent to the destination country via many countries by invoicing low values. Transactions across multiple countries make the job even more complex.