Hunter Biden, the son of the President of the United States and a largely-reformed art world star, has been the subject of a significant amount of scrutiny and attention since deciding to reintroduce himself to the world as a mild-mannered painter. In particular, White House officials have constructed an agreement wherein Biden’s art sales are kept confidential, even from Biden himself, in order to subvert the perception that the painter is knowingly cashing in on his famous name. Now, a newly-proposed federal regulation entitled the “Hunter Biden Rule” is emphasizing that galleries and museums should have to measure up to certain money-laundering prevention laws in the same way that banks do.
Essentially, the National Legal and Policy Center’s proposal urges regulatory officials to regulate museums and galleries with the same series of standards as financial institutions; in other words, these arts businesses would be subjected to more scrutiny. “Our best and brightest in the fight against terrorism, money-laundering and corruption have told us loud and clear that the high-end art world Hunter Biden is playing in is now the frontline in their battle,” Tom Anderson of the NLPC said in a statement.
This kind of assessment might seem hyperbolic, but indeed, the US Department of the Treasury has lately been accruing recommendations from professionals in the antiquities trade in order to draft better regulations for an increasingly turbulent American industry. In recent years, several prominent institutions have had to return acquired objects after discovering that they were sold and exchanged using illicit means. The Treasury is specifically intent upon countering money laundering; there’s also the possibility that the often-mysterious buyers and traders involved in these types of high level deals will be subjected to stronger incentives to make their identities known.
