A service that manages and safeguards art collections on behalf of clients, including storage, maintenance, and transportation of artworks.
Main/
Art Custodial Services
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Code
PS0125
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Name
Art Custodial Services
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Version
1.0
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Category
Real Estate & Property Services
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Created
2025-03-14
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Modified
2025-04-02
Related Techniques
- Criminals store newly purchased artworks or relics in specialized facilities, reducing paper trails that link them to these assets.
- Custodial arrangements can include confidential storage and private handling, impeding law enforcement’s ability to identify real owners or trace transaction histories.
- Provide secure, long-term storage for artifacts, often in free ports or private facilities, limiting customs or tax scrutiny.
- Custodial arrangements can lack transparency on the actual owners, helping criminals mask beneficial ownership.
- Storing illicitly obtained antiquities for extended periods helps launderers distance assets from their illicit origin before eventual resale.
- Criminals can store high-value art or collectibles in freeport facilities with minimal disclosure requirements.
- This limits visibility into the ultimate beneficial owner and masks asset transfers under the pretext of legitimate storage.
- Storage in specialized facilities (often in free-trade zones) enables launderers to conceal the true owner of high-value art.
- Long-term holding in private vaults or warehouses provides minimal visibility to regulators, hindering authorities’ ability to trace criminal proceeds invested in art.
- Transferring custodial rights among undisclosed parties further obfuscates ownership chains.
- Facilitate secure, discrete storage of artworks, enabling criminals to obscure beneficial ownership and asset origin.
- Allow frequent changes in registration or valuations without transparent public records, impeding AML investigations.
- Nominee or shell entities may pay for custodial fees, further concealing the true owners and sources of funds.