International crime blog – Michael McGaulley

The New York Times today ran a long article, “Has the Art Market Become an Unwitting Partner in Crime?” It looks at the intertwining roles of the super-rich, art thieves and forgers, money launderers, and shady art dealers–almost sounds like those bad folks got ideas from my international crime thriller, INFINITE DOUBLECROSS.

One pull-out: “The art market is an ideal playing ground for money laundering.” Another: “Beyond the question of money-laundering, some experts say the anonymity of buyers and sellers hinders their ability to track ownership, a key element in establishing a work’s authenticity.”

Here’s the article: NYTimes February 20, 2017 https://nyti.ms/2lxbFJe

The illustration, from the Times, is Au Lit: Le Baiser, Toulouse-Lautrac

THE MAN WHO CREATED GHOSTS comes to a climax among the secretive banks of Zurich and Geneva. Why there? Because, as the old bank-robber famously said, “Banks—that’s where the money is!” Especially in certain of the banks in Switzerland . . .particularly where the “ghosts:” had hidden their gold bars, coins, jewelry, cash and other dirty moneys.

But according to a recent article in Bloomberg Business Week the Swiss banks are facing competition for this shady money from another kind of Swiss vault: one-time Swiss military bunkers now used to safely store vast or bulky amounts of gold and other goodies even further out of the sight of the prying eyes of governments and tax collectors. amsteg-switzerland-bunker-bloomberg-business-week