Category Archives: Freeports

An art market without rules? The new Freeport opportunity in the UK

Posted on: April 15, 2021 by Eve Gatenby

“Our clients choose us because we have no priority above their property,” remarks the guide touring Robert Pattinson and John David Washington’s characters through a freeport in Christopher Nolan’s 2020 thriller Tenet. The underground vaults they are walking through are alluringly filled with artworks that give subtle hints at Impressionist and Abstract Expressionist masterpieces. These two characters […]

Combatting Money Laundering in the Art Trade: Changes for Europe and the UK

Posted on: January 10, 2020 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

Important changes are imminent for the art market as the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive enters into force in the UK this Friday, the 10th of January 2020. The directive has been hurriedly transposed into UK law through the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019, which were laid before Parliament on the 20th […]

An afternoon of ‘Art on the Move’ at Maurice Turnor Gardner

Posted on: June 25, 2019 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

Last Wednesday, the Institute of Art & Law together with Maurice Turnor Gardner hosted a number of talks and panels on the topic of ‘art on the move’ and the legal issues involved from title and export controls to bailment and the impact of Brexit. Speaking to a packed room, MTG’s and IAL’s teams were […]

The Bouvier affair and the problem of secret commissions

Posted on: April 6, 2016 by Tony Baumgartner

In the course of 2015 a scandal of potential significance to dealers and their clients emerged. Allegations involving Yves Bouvier, the well-known art dealer and the largest private shareholder in the Geneva freeports (Ports Francs & Entreports de Geneve SA), came to light when Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Russian oligarch, brought civil and criminal proceedings against […]

International Art Transactions

Posted on: May 14, 2015 by Alexander Herman

A great seminar yesterday afternoon at Maurice Turnor Gardner in London, with a broad range of topics covered: conflicts of laws, title to ancient artefacts, vesting statutes, negligence in art appraisal, export licensing, customs warehousing, import VAT and freeports. I think it’s fair to say that our speakers covered most, if not all, of the […]

Customs Warehouses in Switzerland: An Introduction

Posted on: May 4, 2015 by Nina M. Neuhaus

A recent art fraud scandal has put Mr Yves Bouvier into the media spotlight. Mr Bouvier, also known as the ‘Freeport King’, oversees freeport operations in Geneva, Luxembourg, and Singapore. He is the largest private shareholder of Ports Francs & Entreports de Geneve SA, the company running the freeport in Geneva. (The majority shareholder is […]