Re: Laundering money through commodity futures

[Mats Bergstrom <matsb@sos.sll.se>]

On Sun, 17 Apr 1994, Timothy C. May wrote:

> The same article mentioned that bribes were often paid to people by
> selling them artworks at "artificially low" prices. (The notion that
> there is some "true" or "market" price for thinly-traded things like
> paintings is at issue here. Many opportunities for tax evasion, money
> laundering, and bribes. And not much the government can do about it.)

Some 3 years ago the Swedish legislation made it taxable to profit from
a private buy-sell art transaction (above a certain profit-percentage, 
around 50). Art prices fell to 0.25 but that included the general recession
of the time (that has not yet recovered, art is still bad business - or
a buyers market). See how easy it was to launder money in the 80's: buy
a piece of cheap art - 'give' your dirty money to an 'art collector' who then
buys it from you at an inflated price and just stores it - who is to tell
the value of art? - and the 'collector' is of course a fall-guy with his
office in his pockets and no permanent address (except the racing track).
Funny, even now I always see a lot of art dealers at the tracks...(trotting
is the big thing over here). Buying a winning coupon is still very safe.
For a $10000-range one you pay an extra 10%, for bigger ones 5%.

//mb