On July 23, 2025, Senators John Fetterman (D-PA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and David McCormick (R-PA), introduced the federal Art Market Integrity Act (the "Act"). The Act is bipartisan legislation that would require art dealers and auction houses to comply with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations under the Bank Secrecy Act ("BSA").
The Act seeks to amend the BSA to align the United States's laws with international standards adopted by the United Kingdom, European Union, and Switzerland, preventing America from becoming a safe haven for illicit activities. The Act targets high-risk art market transactions while exempting artists and businesses with under $50,000 in annual art transactions.
The Act would expand the definition of "financial institution" in 31 U.S.C. § 5312(a)(2) to include:
a person engaged in the trade in works of art, including a dealer, advisor, consultant, custodian, gallery, auction house, museum, collector, or any other person who engages as a business as an intermediary in the sale of works of art, unless the person —
- during the prior year, participated in no single transaction valued over $10,000 that involved a work of art;
- has not, during the prior year, participated in total transactions valued at $50,000 that involved a work of art; or
- is a person engaged in the art market for the sole purpose of selling works of art created by the person.
The Act defines "work of art" as "any original painting, sculpture, watercolor, print, drawing, photograph, installation art, or video art, not including — (A) applied art such as product design, fashion design, architectural design, or interior design; or (B) mass-produced decorative art, including ceramics, textiles, or carpets.''
The Act directs the Treasury to coordinate with appropriate federal agencies revise its advisory issued by the Office of Foreign Asset Control on October 30, 2020, regarding the risks of high-value artwork transactions involving sanctioned persons or entities. The 2020 advisory highlighting the problem of individuals blocked by OFAC from entering the U.S. financial system trying to evade those restrictions through the commerce of art, and emphasizing sanctions for U.S. persons who engage in prohibited transactions. See our prior blog on the advisory.
The Act directs FinCEN to in consultation and coordination with appropriate Federal agencies, to issue proposed rules to carry out the amendments made by subsection (a), including —
- determining which persons should be subject to the rulemaking based on domestic or international geographical location;
- the degree to which the regulations should apply based on status as an agent or intermediary acting on behalf of a purchaser; and
- whether certain exemptions should apply to the regulations.
The Act, if passed, would become effective on the earlier of (i) 360 days after enactment or (ii) the effective date of rules issued by FinCEN.
Similar legislative was introduced in 2020 to (i) add to the list of "financial institutions" covered by the BSA "a person trading or acting as an intermediary in the trade of antiquities, including an advisor, consultant or any other person who engages as a business in the solicitation of the sale of antiquities;" and (ii) require a study by the Secretary of the Treasury "on the facilitation of money laundering and terror finance through the trade of works of art or antiquities," including an evaluation of whether art industry markets should be regulated under the BSA.
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