- June 8, 2022
- Posted by: FCS Compliance
- Category: News
Extensive expertise and experience in other sectors combines with art market specialisms to establish cost-effective service dealers and auctioneers can trust, says Rena Neville
Sotheby’s former Global Compliance Director, Rena Neville is partnering with FCS Compliance to create a one-stop-shop service for art market businesses subject to the UK’s anti-money laundering legislation.
The new operation, FCS Compliance Art Division, will also include Paula Trommel, who was previously responsible for the investigation of financial crime at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). They will join forces with Malcolm Driscoll, Lead AML Consultant at FCS Compliance, whose experience includes more than 30 years in the Police Service in London investigating serious and complex fraud and money laundering cases on a global basis.
Together they will head a team that combines art market expertise with long-established experience in banking and financial services, as well as investigating economic crime and consulting with the regulator, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
The team will cover every aspect of compliance, from registration and training, to setting up policies and procedures, helping firms conduct risk assessments and AML audits, and assisting with Customer Due Diligence.
The new business extends the remit of FCS Compliance, which is already a major player in the London residential property market. It has also been offering AML services for the art market since the UK regulations came into force in January 2020 under the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
“AML compliance has become a significant part of art market businesses over the past few years, and that has understandably led to the emergence of a whole sector of service providers,” says Neville.
“Paula and I decided to go into partnership with FCS Compliance because we realised that this would give us the opportunity to work with experts with extensive experience in law enforcement and the regulatory process who already have several years of AML compliance business behind them.”
Trommel added: “It’s not just that the combined operation enables us to offer a more competitive and cost-effective scalable all-round service; equally important is that it can do this with high levels of trust, based on proven track records in a sector where service providers themselves are not regulated. Those sort of credentials will prove vital to clients.”
Malcolm Driscoll, a seasoned member of a team of seven specialists, said: “Our backgrounds working within the National Crime Agency (NCA) and various police forces, provides us with an unrivalled team of specialists who have intimate knowledge of how to tackle economic crime.”
“Many of us hold qualifications under the International Compliance Association as well as other disciplines and, importantly, have already spent years dealing with issues that arise for clients under AML regulations in other sectors.
“This new partnership brings us essential insights into the needs and challenges of dealers, art advisors, auction houses and other art market participants. It also allows us to combine our own specialist knowledge with tried, tested and trusted experts at the top of their field within the art market to provide clients with the optimal level of reassurance and support they need in meeting their obligations.”
* FCS Compliance Art Division will showcase their joint expertise in a launch webinar to discuss the challenges of AML for the art market on June 27. HMRC Interventions & Sanctions: Practical advice from leading AML experts will air from 5-6pm, with attendees able to post questions throughout.
Free registration is available here
