Anti-Money Laundering Legislation

The UK government introduced a new Anti-Money Laundering legislation on 10th January 2020 which requires auction houses, art galleries and dealerships to conduct stricter due diligence on buyers who purchase from them works of art above a threshold of €10,000 (about £8,500).

Before the conclusion of any sale over the threshold, we are now legally obliged to carry out identification checks; this applies to both new and existing clients.

For individual buyers, we are required to verify the buyer's full name, date of birth, nationality and permanent address; we will need to see (and take a copy of) a valid government-issued photo ID such as a passport, driving licence or national ID card.

If the artwork is purchased on behalf of a company, charity or trust, we will need to have company details including evidence of incorporation, directors and any ultimate beneficial owners.

The information you provide will be held and processed by us in accordance with Global Data Protection Regulations and will remain confidential. We thank you for your understanding of why this is necessary and we will ensure that the gathering of this information is handled as quickly and as sensitively as possible.