Art & Antiquities; Beneficial Owners; Foreign Corruption — and More

We are really pleased to be moderating, once again, the Practising Law Institute’s 2021 Anti-Money Laundering Conference on May 11, 2021, starting at 9 a.m. This year’s conference again will be entirely virtual — but it will be as informative, interesting and timely as always.  Our conference co-chair, Nicole S. Healy of Ropers Majeski Kohn & Bentley PC in San Francisco, will conduct a similar program on May 14, 2021.

Once again, we are lucky to have a fantastic line-up of experienced and knowledgeable panelists:

  • Mary Butler, Chief of the International Unit of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the U.S. Department of Justice
  • Tess Davis, Executive Director of the Antiquities Coalition
  • Elizabeth Davy, Partner and Co-Head of the Economic Sanctions and Financial Crime Group at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
  • Mia Levine, Bank Secrecy Act Officer and Head of U.S. Anti-Money Laundering in the Global AML function at TD Bank Group
  • Michael McCullough, Founding Partner of Pearlstein & McCullough LLP
  • Evelyn Sheehan, partner at the Miami office of Kobre & Kim

Many thanks also to Mary Treanor and Alexis Levy of Ballard Spahr’s AML Team for their excellent work on panel materials for the conference.

The conference will tackle many critical issues in BSA/AML compliance and money laundering enforcement.  The three panels will be:

Art and Antiquities: An “Ideal Playing Ground” for Money Laundering?

The potential role of high-end art and antiquities in money laundering schemes has attracted increasing attention over the last several years.  A tightening global enforcement and regulatory net has rendered other possible avenues for money laundering increasingly less attractive, and some have criticized the art world as lacking transparency.  The panel will discuss:

  • Money laundering and terrorist finance risks in the art and antiquities markets
  • New anti-money laundering and counter terrorist finance regulations for dealers in dealers in art and antiquities
  • Due diligence, provenance, and art world secrecy – practical and ethical issues

Legislative and Regulatory Update: The Future of BSA/AML

Congress and regulators recently have produced a flurry of sweeping and historic legislative and regulatory changes to the BSA/AML regulatory regime.  The panel will discuss:

  • The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 – the first major revision to AML/CFT laws since the PATRIOT Act – enacted to modernize AML/CFT laws and regulations to adapt to new and emerging threats
  • The Corporate Transparency Act, establishing a secure FinCEN database for beneficial ownership disclosure by companies, and addressing who can obtain access and how
  • Continued focus on technological innovation

Foreign Corruption and Domestic Money Laundering: Traps for Professionals

The Department of Justice continues to bring major indictments alleging corruption schemes committed abroad – but the proceeds are laundered through the U.S. using bank accounts and high-end purchases.  Such schemes can present traps for professionals involved in moving the money – from investigations to forfeiture to criminal prosecution.  The panel will discuss:

  • How the DOJ has used the federal money laundering statutes to charge corruption schemes committed entirely abroad – and how those schemes are tied to the U.S.
  • Witting or unwitting participants?  Government efforts to recover proceeds of foreign corruption bring attention to the role of lawyers, accountants, bankers, real estate agents and other professionals

If you would like to remain updated on these issues, please click here to subscribe to Money Laundering Watch. To learn more about Ballard Spahr’s Anti-Money Laundering Team, please click here.