Page:2020-07-29 PSI Staff Report - The Art Industry and U.S. Policies that Undermine Sanctions.pdf/37

 United States continued to lead the market in 2019 with 44 percent of all sales by value, with the United Kingdom in second place with 20 percent. International art fairs gather dealers, artists, and collectors to display art from different regions around the world. For those unable to travel, the internet enables collectors from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to easily bid on the same pieces of art.

The art market has attracted criticism because of its lack of transparency. Current rules allow sellers to remain anonymous, and purchasers can use offshore shell companies to conceal ownership and sources of funds. Sellers of artwork at auction are often not required to disclose their identity to the buyer; in some cases, the auction house does not know the name of the original owner or buyer. Anonymity in the market can make it difficult to track sales transactions, art ownership, and determinations regarding authenticity. Concealment of buyer and seller identity also makes art "an attractive instrument to hide illicit assets because the transactions are often private, prices are speculative and an item can easily be smuggled to evade authorities."

Deloitte and ArTactic's Art & Finance Report 2019 found that 77 percent of wealth managers and 75 percent of collectors cite the art market's lack of transparency as one of the industry's key challenges. Moreover, 75 percent of art professionals identified the market's lack of transparency as a major concern, marking a six percent increase from 2016.