Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

New York Times v. Nahmad: Is There an Art & Money Laundering Connection?

May 17, 2013 by Marion Maneker

Helly Nahmad & Leo DiCaprio
Helly Nahmad & Leo DiCaprio

The New York Times continues to dine out on the Helly Nahmad gambling case by running its second page-one story in a week on art and money laundering. Though, as the section below admits, art has nothing to do with the gambling case:

But the case, in which investigators listened to Mr. Nahmad’s cellphone conversations over a period of months, also raises questions about how he conducted himself as an art dealer. In one conversation he speaks of using the family’s art business as a cover to move around illicit money, advising a woman named Lisa to wire $150,000 to the bank account of his father, David.

“Sometimes a bank needs a justification for a wire, right?” Mr. Nahmad said, according to a government account of the conversation, in March 2012. “We can just say, Oh, you are buying a painting. If they need justification, you know what I mean? You just be like, Oh yeah, I bought a, you know, Picasso drawing or something.”

It is unclear whether that transaction took place, and no charges related to the use of the business to launder money are contained in the indictment. The charges describe two related gambling networks — one led by Mr. Nahmad — that laundered tens of millions of dollars through shell companies in Cyprus; legitimate hedge funds and real estate assets in the United States; a car-repair shop in Brooklyn; and even a Bronx plumbing company that had been taken over by the gambling ring as payment for a bettor’s losses.

Case Casts Harsh Light on Family Art Business (NYTimes)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • When Collector Couples Split, Who Gets the Art?When Collector Couples Split, Who Gets the Art?
  • There’s More Where Last Week’s Record Ferrari Came FromThere’s More Where Last Week’s Record Ferrari Came From
  • Indian Titans Meet in ChelseaIndian Titans Meet in Chelsea
  • Get Ready for the $100m BasquiatGet Ready for the $100m Basquiat
  • Artist’s Markets Launched at Prestigious Events May Not Be a Sure ThingArtist’s Markets Launched at Prestigious Events May Not Be a Sure Thing
  • How the ‘Four Pack’ Fits with the Art Fair CircuitHow the ‘Four Pack’ Fits with the Art Fair Circuit

Filed Under: Dealers

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Selection Bias In Art Is What Creates Value
  • Aboudia, Zemba Luzamba, Dickens Otieno Anchor Contemporary African Art Sale at Artcurial in Marrakesh
  • Tracey Emin Neon Lights Up Sotheby's 'Contemporary Showcase' Pop-Up
  • How to Chant Like an Auctioneer
  • Sotheby's Pulls in a $9m David Hockney for November
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor