Laundering Illicitly Trafficked Cultural Property and Criminal Law Control over the Import and Export of Artworks and Antiquities

The last decade has been characterised by a growing attention to then criminal dimension of the art and antiquities market. This process culminated in the adoption of the first suppression convention aimed specifically at cultural property trafficking ever entered into force, after the failed attempts dating back to the Eighties and Nineties. After briefly summarising the reasons for this shift in paradigm, the paper delves into the crucial issue of laundering of cultural items of unlawful origin, as addressed by the 2017 Council of Europe Convention, with a specific focus on the crucial role played by international circulation. To this effect, a summary of the main national approaches to the export and import of cultural property is offered for the reader’s consideration, together with some reflections on the growing importance of provenance research and provenance documentation as tools to improve transparency in the market and reduce its ‘grey’ nature.