Art Law
Orlando Whitfield on Art, Fraud, and Unwittingly Going into Business with a Talented Con Man
Orlando Whitfield’s All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud, and Fine Art is a memoir that reserves a co-starring role for his erstwhile business partner, an ingratiating con artist whose $87 million fraud earned him a four-year prison term that ended in 2024. Inigo Philbrick’s misdeeds, which involved sham contracts, fake clients and works by well-known contemporary artists like Christopher Wool and Wade Guyton, confirmed that the contemporary art trade is a soft target for an urbane crook, ideally one whose clients include credulous mega-rich collectors willing to pay millions for the latest must-have canvas or sculpture or, God help us, generative AI video collage.
Read more: https://crimereads.com/orlando-whitfield-interview-art-fraud/
The “Center for Art Law Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Art” [1]is an enlightening and comprehensive guide that explores the practices of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) in the art sector across EU member states and the UK, following the enforcement of the EU’s 5th AML Directive in 2018. This Directive brought the art world under closer scrutiny by EU’s AML regulations, particularly due to the increasing association of art financing with terrorist activities.
What sets this report apart is its pioneering effort in compiling a guide of this nature. It features survey responses from leading Art Law experts across 14 jurisdictions, offering valuable insights. The report delves into the specific AML laws that apply in each country, their approach to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and the array of sanctions in place. Not only does this approach provide a comprehensive understanding of the diverse legal landscapes, but it also raises awareness about the implications for participants in the art market throughout Europe and beyond.
