ii. Christie's Agreed to Allow Mr. Baltser to Conduct Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Checks on His Own Clients
Mr. Omelnitski represented Mr. Baltser and BALTZER LLP in contract negotiations with Christie's as Mr. Baltser and Christie's exchanged drafts of the agreement.[1] On February 4, 2014, Christie's and BALTZER LLP entered into a letter agreement that established the terms of the two entities' relationship.[2] Mr. Baltser signed on behalf of BALTZER LLP; the Managing Director signed on behalf of Christie's.[3] As part of the agreement, Christie's agreed to supply BALTZER LLP with a number of bidding paddles under one account.[4] As stated in the contract, this enabled BALTZER LLP to "bid in Christie's auctions simultaneously."[5]
Regarding customer due diligence, the agreement established that:
- BALTZER LLP will conduct customer due diligence on its members to the standards required by the EU Money Laundering Directive, consents to Christie's relying on such customer due diligence and will retain for a period of not less than 5 years, the documents and records evidencing the same. Where these documents or records are held outside the UK, copies will be made available to Christie's or relevant enforcement agencies or regulators under court order or relevant mutual assistance procedure.
- BALTZER LLP will further certify to Christie's, at the end of every trading year that it has conducted customer due diligence in accordance with these requirements and that it has no reason to suspect that any of its members are engaged in money laundering activities.[6]
Christie's former Global Head of Compliance explained these provisions mirrored language she previously used as an attorney for a large U.S. financial institution in agreements between financial institutions.[7] She also confirmed to the Subcommittee that this was the first time Christie's allowed another entity to perform these types of customer due diligence checks.[8]
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