WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a rare display of bipartisan cooperation, a coalition of U.S. senators led by John Fetterman (D-PA) and David McCormick (R-PA) introduced sweeping legislation Wednesday aimed at closing long-standing regulatory gaps in the U.S. art market—an industry valued at $25 billion annually and widely viewed by financial crime experts as a haven for illicit transactions.
The Art Market Integrity Act, co-sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Andy Kim (D-NJ), would subject art dealers and auction houses to the same anti-money-laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing rules already applied to banks, jewelers, and real estate professionals under the Bank Secrecy Act.
“Art should be for art-lovers, not terrorists and criminals,” Senator Fetterman declared, citing documented cases of Hezbollah financiers and sanctioned Russian oligarchs using art sales to conceal and move wealth. “This needs to stop now.”
The legislation follows years of growing concern from federal agencies and law enforcement that the U.S. art market’s lack of transparency has enabled foreign adversaries, kleptocrats, and criminal syndicates to launder billions and circumvent sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department has repeatedly flagged the sector as particularly vulnerable to financial abuse due to its anonymity, high-value transactions, and minimal regulatory oversight.
Senator Grassley emphasized the systemic threat: “For decades, criminal enterprises have used America’s multibillion-dollar art industry as a personal piggy bank for money laundering schemes, terrorist financing and other nefarious activities.”
The proposed bill would require due diligence from industry participants—such as identifying buyers and sellers and reporting suspicious transactions—while exempting artists and small businesses with annual sales under $50,000. The framework aligns U.S. standards with those already implemented in the United Kingdom, European Union, and Switzerland, thereby reducing the risk that American markets become a haven for international financial crime.
Recent cases underline the urgency. Hezbollah financier Nazem Ahmad was indicted for laundering over $160 million through art transactions. Kremlin-linked figures, including Arkady and Boris Rotenberg and Roman Abramovich, moved tens of millions in artworks to evade sanctions. Last year, federal prosecutors charged Anastasia Simes for laundering money on behalf of Russian oligarch Aleksander Udadov through high-value art sales.
Support for the bill spans law enforcement, national security organizations, and international transparency advocates. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), the National Border Patrol Council, Transparency International U.S., and the Antiquities Coalition are among more than a dozen endorsing organizations.
Mathew Silverman, National President of FLEOA, said the bill “brings much-needed transparency and accountability, giving law enforcement vital tools to combat these threats.”
Paul Perez, president of the National Border Patrol Council, added, “This legislation will give federal law enforcement agents the tools we need to shut down money laundering operations that multi-national criminal organizations use to fund unlawful activities, like drug and human trafficking across our border.”
Deborah Lehr, Chairman of the Antiquities Coalition, called the measure “a smart, pragmatic, and long-overdue step to protect a multi-billion-dollar industry from criminal abuse.”
Additional support came from human rights and democracy-focused groups concerned about the misuse of art markets by authoritarian regimes. Representatives from the American Jewish Committee, the American Coalition for Ukraine, the Initiative for the Recovery of Venezuelan Assets (INRAV), and the Hudson Institute all praised the legislation as a critical blow to the financial channels that empower hostile governments and transnational criminal networks.
“This is how corrupt politicians and other criminals launder the money that they steal,” said Scott Greytak of Transparency International U.S., noting that the bill would finally bring oversight to “one of the world’s most exploited financial blind spots.”
The bill now awaits committee consideration, but its broad bipartisan backing positions it as a serious contender for passage in the current Congress. If enacted, the Art Market Integrity Act would mark a historic shift in how the United States polices its high-end art trade—transforming it from one of the most opaque corners of the global financial system into one subject to the same scrutiny as other critical markets.
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