Monday, May 13, 2013

Art as a way of hiding "dirty" money?

Summary of Article: Criminals need ways to hide "dirty" money--money made their illicit means (gambling, drugs, etc.) In the past, they have purchased real estate or operated a restaurant as a way of hiding money earned illegally. Now, it seems many criminals are using art to hide dirty money because (1) sales are unregulated; (2) buyers and sellers can make secret purchases, where their names are recorded only as "private sale;" (3) it is easy to transport art between countries. For instance, a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hannibal, went from London to New York, where it was declared as $100. Federal investigators later discovered it was used by a Brazilian embezzler to hide dirty money and was actually worth $8 million! It is currently sitting in a Manhattan warehouse waiting for "extradition" to Brazilian law enforcement. 

Discussion with Kids:
  • What are ways people make money? (Jobs). Some people try to make money by jobs that are not legal. Examples? (Drugs, gambling houses). Is this ok? Why not? (Avoids taxes, exploits people and values, etc.)
  • Where do we put our money after we make it? (Piggy banks; bank accounts). After criminals/bad guys make money illegally, where do they keep it? That is the problem. They can't put it in a bank or the bank will want to know where they got it. If they tell the bank, they could go to jail. They have to look for ways to hide the money from the police. 
  • Tell above story. 
  • What does it mean to be "unregulated?" 
  • If you were a federal investigator or policy maker, what are some solutions to this problem?

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