In June 2019, ArtAML™ Co-Founders Susan J Mumford and Dr. Chris King participated in the HM Treasury Consultation for the Transposition of the 5th Money Laundering Directive into UK law. In the official response, they asked for clarity about the situation for artists.
Nearly two years later, we have an official answer: Artists are not caught.
HM Treasury have confirmed that artists – persons who create original art – do not fall under the scope of the Anti Money Laundering Regulations.
– Andrew Henderson, Economic Crime Supervision, HMRC
How are industry and specialist providers responding? Anna Brady of The Art Newspaper spoke with our CTO and Co-Founder Dr. Chris King.
Read the full piece, published 26th May 2021.
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**UPDATE** As of June 2022, the exclusion of artists from the Money Laundering Regulations has been included in draft legislation. This change in the definition of an Art Market Participant is anticipated to be passed, i.e., put into law, later in the year.
In the meantime, artists continue to not be caught under the MLRs as Art Market Participants per exclusion by HM Revenue & Customs (2021).
The draft legislation reads:
Art market participants
7. In regulation 14 (art market participants)(1)—
(a)in paragraph (1)(d), after “means” insert “, subject to paragraph (3),”;
(b)after paragraph (2) insert—
“(3) A firm or sole practitioner is not an art market participant for the purposes of paragraph (1)(d)(i) in relation to the sale of a work of art which is created by, or is attributable to, a member of the firm or the sole practitioner.”.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2022/9780348236347/contents
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**UPDATE** The following message was sent by email from HMRC on 2nd June 2021 to clarify the situation for artists:
