Anti Money Laundering Regulations

The art market across UK and Europe has become a regulated sector for anti-money laundering purposes. 

The legislation is mandatory and requires verification of the identity of clients when selling or acquiring artworks over €8000 (£7000 approx). It applies to both new and existing clients (including those from outside the EU) transacting with us. The checks that we are required to carry out and the records that we must keep are similar to the “Know Your Customer” processes that banks, law firms and some of the major auction houses already follow. We will ask you for the following information:

• – If a work is being invoiced to an individual, we will need to see an original/certified copy of your passport or other similar photo identification and we will need to see details of your permanent residential address, eg a utility bill.

• – If the work is being invoiced to a company, we will need copies of the company’s incorporation documents and details of its directors and ultimate beneficial owners.

• – We will only be able to receive funds from the person named on the invoice unless, by prior agreement, you have discussed with us that you wish for a third party to pay the invoice and we confirm that we have satisfactorily carried out the necessary due diligence on the third party. Without such confirmation, unfortunately we may not be able to accept the funds.

Please be assured that all personal data will be held and processed securely in accordance with data protection legislation. We anticipate that the  legislation may, impact on the speed of some transactions and we therefore ask for your patience if it takes a little longer than usual for us to process sales.  We thank you for your understanding and cooperation, and look forward to working with you.

Please contact one of the directors for further details or to answer and questions.

HMRC anti-money laundering registration number is: XRML0000018572