The Financial Times recently reported on how Russian oligarchs and companies have been investing in London for two decades, encouraged by British politicians. Critical of London acting as a laundromat to clean dirty money from Russia and across the globe, they examine why it took Russia's invasion of Ukraine to put the issue in the spotlight and whether new sanctions and measures to tackle the problem go far enough. 

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While focusing on the investment of residential property as a means to integrate corrupt funds into the UK economy, many parallels can be drawn to the art market and the investment of funds into physical assets as a means to legitimise funds. As art businesses’ subjected to regulation, the issues of shell companies, ultimate beneficial owners and lack of regulation are all issues to be aware of when transacting any high value asset - art included.

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