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Yuke ago

This was one of the things that stood out for me about JA. The amount of travelling is suspicious, and it would cost a lot of money, which is something else about him - he seems to have a lot of money for a humble three time restaurant owner.

JastheMace ago

Don't forget he is also a wealthy "Art Dealer" as well. That's how he launders the child trafficing money. Think of how subjective the value of art is. It's produced by a person instead of a factory with detailed cost, so it's value is what ever you want it to be regardless of what it is. I was in DC a few years back and went to the Smithsonian art museum, they had a 12 feet tall by 19 feet wide painting, if you can call it that that because it was completely blank, not one drop of paint on it and they had it priced at something like $150K. Same thing with antique shops, no paper record except what you make on thing with subjective value. They don't even have to prove the sold item ever even existed.

septimasexta ago

"That's how he launders the child trafficing money." This is unproven, although this angle has not been formally investigated. The art world is certainly ripe for money laundering, as are emeralds.....

"When Medellin drug lords wanted to expand their money laundering, they turned to emeralds. A decade ago, they approached Colombia's top gem traders for a marriage of convenience, hoping to gain access to the Magdalena River for drug shipping. Instead, the power play set off a bloody interlude marked by barroom brawls and gangland-style slayings, with the body of one reluctant emerald dealer tossed from a plane onto his mines."
https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/11/world/bogota-journal-emeralds-luster-hides-a-darker-side.html

Remember, the raid on John of God turned up emeralds.

The art gallery promoting a TWO YEAR OLD artist caught my attention:

"Pint-Sized Picasso Making Waves In The Art World" https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/02/27/pint-sized-picasso-making-waves-in-the-art-world/

https://www.nyc-arts.org/organizations/282/chashama

Are_we__sure ago

The art world is certainly ripe for money laundering, as are emeralds.....

In this case, that would be the opposite of the theory that you can launder money through art because the value is arbitrary. Laundering Money in things like real estate or emeralds or art is done because because of the REAL value of the objects. It's a way of taking a lot of cash and putting it in something valuable which can be less risky than putting into a bank.