MSCHF, the outlandish New York art collective, have done it again. And if – by ‘it’ – you guessed ‘severing’ a limited edition Damien Hirst ‘Spot Painting’ print and reselling its collective 88 pieces for nearly twice the total amount – you wouldn’t be far off. Because they’ve sold what’s left of the painting too. Hirst’s ‘L-Isoleucine T-Butyl Ester’ (2018)…
-
-
The State of New York Has Sued Sotheby’s For Enabling Sales Tax Fraud
New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James, has filed a lawsuit against Sotheby’s in the state Supreme Court for enabling a major client of the auction house to evade taxes. According to court files, the client, a contemporary art collector who resides outside of the U.S. and runs a shipping business, illegally obtained tax exemption certificates on art purchases exceeding $27…
-
U.S. Government Urges Art and Luxury Goods Dealers to Develop Sanctions Compliance Programs
The U.S. art market is facing mounting scrutiny from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control – (“USTD”) and (“OFAC”) respectively – over the adoption of regulatory compliance measures for businesses. Yesterday, OFAC issued an Advisory urging “galleries, museums, private art collectors, auction companies, agents, brokers, and other participants in the art market” to develop risk-based sanctions compliance…
