Partner Abigail Healey and Managing Associate Joanne Jones discuss regulation and the art market in The Times

Writing in The Times, Partner Abigail Healey and Managing Associate Joanne Jones argue that the art market needs greater support to help galleries, traders and artists navigate the growing burden of regulations, sanctions and compliance facing the sector.

Abigail and Joanne’s article, 15 May 2025, and can be found here.

The art market is under increasing scrutiny. Earlier this year, HMRC named and penalised 50 UK art businesses for breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. Last month, in QIPCO v Phoenix Ancient Art & Ors, the High Court struck out the defendants’ defence and granted summary judgment against them – not on questions of authenticity, but for failure to comply with disclosure obligations.

Former BBC Bargain Hunt expert, Oghenochuko Ojiri, is also currently facing criminal proceedings for offences relating to terrorist financing.

Each of these cases serve as a cautionary reminder to all art market participants — dealers, gallerists, collectors, auction houses alike — of the increasing regulations placed upon them and the risks of being in breach of these. Beyond reputational damage and financial loss, non-compliance can also result in enforcement action, criminal liability and/or civil judgments being entered against them.

The current legal framework impacting art market participants is complex and often involves a web of domestic and international legislation and regulations. In the UK, AML regulations require (amongst other things) effective customer due diligence, provenance scrutiny, and extensive document retention policies.

Another critical — and often overlooked — risk area is sanctions law. UK sanctions regulations, particularly since 2022, impose strict prohibitions on dealing in assets connected to designated persons or entities. These are live and evolving risks; fall foul and you could face potentially unlimited financial penalties and even imprisonment.

Without the relevant provenance paperwork, UK businesses may also be prohibited from exporting certain cultural goods from the UK to the EU, under the new impending import regulations. For those dealing with antiquities, this can present real problems as much of this documentation could well have been lost over the years, or just never existed in the first place – something the regulations do not yet grapple with.

In an industry that still prizes discretion, this regulatory shift presents a cultural challenge.
Furthermore, the majority of the art market comprises small galleries, sole traders and independent artists. For them, navigating this legal minefield is no small task. They are experts in art not financial regulation and compliance, and the costs and burden of trying to stay abreast of this evolving landscape can quickly become overwhelming.

Many may see the above as indicative of the art market as an illicit hotbed of crime and evasion. However, in truth these examples generate the column inches because they are the extreme. Fraudsters and criminals must obviously face the most severe penalties. Most, though, are striving to get it right with limited resources and guidance available. If we want the UK art market to thrive as it should, we should be thinking how to support it more, rather than merely scrutinise it.