In The Times Article, Counsel Tristan Dollie Examines Privacy in Art Collecting

In an article for The Times on 16 March, Counsel Tristan Dollie examines a recent report in relation to dirty money in the art market.

The article, entitled “Privacy in art collecting does not mean dirty money,” noted that the report published by the Financial Action Task Force suggests that the privacy and opaqueness of how the art market operates are exploited for the purposes of money laundering. But Dollie notes that “privacy shouldn’t be seen as a dirty word [and that] wealthy collectors often wish to maintain anonymity for security reasons and to preserve collection values.”

He further notes that “…the value of art is intrinsically linked to its provenance and ownership history. Where a seller is unable or unwilling to provide such information, this will affect value” advocating the legitimacy of privacy in a relatively traditional asset class.

Read the full article here.