Poster #8 - From Looting to Repatriation: Uncovering Pricing Patterns and Trade Based Money Laundering Risk

• In Event: ASC Poster Session II

Abstract

Art and antiquities have repeatedly been used as vehicles of money laundering. Using a sample of 138 repatriated cultural object data from Museum of Looted Antiquities (MOLA) this study examines association between observable pricing patterns and trade-based money laundering risk (TBML) indicators defined by Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This study is part of a larger project seeking to identify transaction red flags indicating potential TBML activities. This study codes 8 observable pricing patterns and 33 TBML risk indicators derived from FATF March 2021 risk indicators guidelines. This study employs a binary classification method to see whether the pricing patterns align with the indicators. This study uses chi-square tests to understand the association between pricing patterns and each indicator. The findings show how pricing patterns such as huge price inflation, abrupt price drop, and inflation during the reputed western museum acquisition are significantly associated with TBML risk indicators. These observed pricing patterns call for building up a real time price monitoring system for the cultural object data which is in the market to raise the flag against money laundering. This real time approach will assist regulatory bodies in combating antiquities based financial crime in the industry.

Authors

• Nikhil Chandra Nath, University of New Haven

• Michelle Fabiani, University of New Haven

• Jim Marrone, Independent Researcher