For sophisticated criminals, high-end artworks are more than just pretty pictures. Latin American cartels, a major Hezbollah financier and powerful Russian oligarchs have all exploited the luxury art world to evade sanctions and launder potentially billions of dollars globally each year.

The U.S. is by far the world’s largest art market, but it is also one of a dwindling number of jurisdictions where art sales are not subject to any anti-money laundering regulations at all. This makes it highly vulnerable to exploitation by adversaries who will use the proceeds to threaten Americans' safety and security.

The refined elegance of a high-end art gallery might seem worlds away from the chaos of a cartel turf war or the brutality of a major terrorist attack. But there are three reasons art has become an attractive prospect for the professional money launderers who support these criminal groups.

First, it is one of the relatively few ways to vest thousands or even millions of illicit dollars in a portable physical asset. These can be located in freeports or other secure locations outside of banks, where funds could be vulnerable to being frozen or seized by law enforcement.

Second, the value of an........

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