Author: Francesca Marasi
Committee: Art and cultural heritage crimes Committee
Date: 15/12/2025
Illicit trade in cultural goods: a threat for Ukrainian cultural identity
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has been marked by a deliberate targeting of cultural heritage, as part of a broader Russification campaign against Ukraine’s national identity. Cultural goods possess immense artistic, historical, and scientific value; therefore, their destruction, plunder, illicit excavation, and trafficking constitute crimes with devastating and irreversible consequences for peace, security, collective memory, and shared identity.
Recognizing this, cultural heritage protection has been increasingly integrated into humanitarian, peacekeeping, security, and human rights frameworks. As the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights observed, cultural heritage is “living and in an organic relationship with human beings,” underscoring the need for its preservation and the condemnation of its destruction.1 Conflict zones such as Ukraine are particularly vulnerable, as war undermines legal and security systems, thereby heightening the risk of illicit trade in cultural property.
Moreover, these illicit activities extend beyond national borders. The cross-border nature of this trade has a significant impact on the European market, financing organized crime, corruption, and terrorism. According to UNESCO, the black market in antiquities—alongside the trafficking of drugs and arms—“constitutes one of the most persistent illegal trades in the world.”2 However, its true scale remains difficult to estimate due to the scarcity of reliable data, limited statistics, and gaps in EU legislation addressing the issue.
The problem is further exacerbated by the rise of the internet as a major platform for the illicit trade in cultural goods. Online transactions enable access to a global audience, ensure anonymity, and facilitate the infiltration of counterfeit items into the legitimate market.3
The protection of cultural heritage in EU law and policy
EU trade legislation plays a crucial role in preventing and detecting the illicit trafficking of cultural goods. The importance of cultural heritage is explicitly recognized in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Article 28 TFEU promotes the free movement of goods by eliminating customs duties and quantitative restrictions—one of the four fundamental freedoms of the internal market, fostering economic integration and cooperation among Member States. However, Article 36 TFEU provides exceptions to this rule, allowing Member States to restrict imports and exports in order to protect their national artistic, historical, or archaeological heritage.
Under Title XIII of the TFEU, culture is classified as a “supporting competence”
(Articles 6 and 167), meaning that the Union can only supplement and support the actions of Member States. Article 167 further emphasizes the shared nature of European cultural heritage and calls for EU support in the full development of national cultures, while respecting diversity and promoting international cooperation. These principles are further reflected in the Union’s secondary legislation. Regarding imports, Regulation (EU) 2019/880—adopted to combat the trafficking of cultural goods and entering into effect in June 2025—prohibits the import of items illegally exported from third countries and establishes requirements for import licenses and declarations. The regulation applies to cultural goods created or discovered outside the Union, introducing a “general prohibition rule” (Article 3.1) that bans the entry of illegally exported cultural goods into the EU. 4 Furthermore, it establishes a centralized digital system (the ICG system) to facilitate information exchange among Member States and ensure better oversight of cultural imports.
The effects of illicit trade on EU’s financial interests and security
The illicit trade in cultural property, as a complex transnational criminal activity, poses a direct threat to the financial interests and security of the Union. Preserving peace, preventing conflicts, and strengthening international security are among the EU’s core objectives under Article 21(2) of the Treaty on European Union. 5
This trade destabilizes the Single Market and financial systems by causing revenue losses from customs and taxation, which can in turn finance terrorist and criminal organizations. It also exposes EU institutions to legal and reputational risks, undermining public trust and fiscal integrity.
The trafficking of cultural goods is often intertwined with organized crime, terrorism, and financial offences such as money laundering, corruption, and tax evasion. Criminal networks exploit the art and antiquities market to conceal the origins of illicit profits. The modus operandi typically involves local looters, intermediaries, and buyers working within layered supply chains. Artifacts may be fragmented for easier transport, exported to countries where ownership records are falsified, and eventually resold on the global art market through auction houses, collectors, or museums.6
Corruption and money laundering enable this transnational network. Cultural objects may be purchased with illicit funds, allowing criminals to “clean” their money through art transactions. The use of cash and intermediaries ensures anonymity, facilitates VAT evasion, and obscures the true ownership of artworks. Over- and under-pricing, fictitious sales, and forged documentation are common techniques to legitimize funds or exploit EU programs.
Consequently, illicit trade harms fair competition, reduces tax revenue, and damages the integrity of the EU market. It also jeopardizes EU funds designated for cultural heritage protection, archaeological restoration, and museum acquisitions—sectors vulnerable to fraud through counterfeit provenance documentation or false ownership claims. These abuses not only waste public resources but also erode trust and deter public and private investment in culture.
The Role of EPPO in guarantee the Eu financial interests
Given the large-scale impact of these crimes, a coordinated and global approach is essential, particularly in combating money laundering and terrorism financing. To this end, the EU has strengthened its legal framework—most notably through the 2018 Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive—and launched an EU Action Plan against the Trafficking of Cultural Goods, aligned with the EU Security Strategy (2020–2025) and the Strategy for Combating Organized Crime (2021–2025).
In parallel, the EU continues to support Ukraine through macro-financial assistance and targeted sanctions against Russia. Since March 2014, the EU has adopted 18 sanction packages, with the 2024 framework targeting individuals and entities undermining EU values, security, and integrity. 7
Within this framework, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) plays a pivotal role in protecting EU financial interests and addressing crimes linked to cultural heritage. Unlike Europol and Eurojust, which primarily coordinate investigations, EPPO holds direct investigative and prosecutorial powers within participating Member States. It can intervene in cases involving money laundering, VAT fraud, and the fraudulent use or misappropriation of EU funds—especially when such crimes intersect with the art market. 8
Given Russia’s aggression and the widespread plunder of Ukrainian cultural heritage, expanding EPPO’s mandate to include the monitoring of sanctions evasion could further strengthen the EU’s ability to combat cultural heritage crimes while protecting its financial and strategic interests. 9
Conclusion
Crimes against cultural heritage are far more than isolated acts of theft or vandalism—they represent deliberate assaults on our collective memory, erasing the tangible evidence of humanity’s shared history. The illicit trade in cultural goods often serves as a vehicle for laundering criminal profits, exploiting cross-border transactions and forged documentation to legitimize illicit gains while undermining the EU’s financial integrity and security. 10
Cultural heritage embodies the essence of the “common heritage of humanity,” a concept that enshrines both a moral and legal duty to protect it for future generations. Combating its illicit trade requires coordinated action at national and international levels, integrating law enforcement, judicial cooperation, and cultural diplomacy.
It is therefore essential that the Union intensify its efforts to curb cultural property trafficking by reinforcing collaboration with the EPPO—particularly where cultural crimes intersect with financial fraud or organized crime. Doing so would reaffirm the EU’s commitment to safeguarding both the economic and cultural pillars of European identity. 11
By addressing the nexus between cultural and financial crime, the Union not only protects its heritage but also strengthens internal cohesion, resilience, and global credibility. Understanding the structure of illegal markets, trafficking routes, and criminal methodologies will ultimately allow the EU to promote peace, reconstruction, and sustainable development in conflict zones.
In this sense, safeguarding cultural heritage is not merely an act of preservation—it is a proactive instrument of diplomacy, stability, and the affirmation of shared European values.
Sources:
1. page 27: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2023/733120/IPOL_S TU(2023)733120_EN.pdf).
2. Unesco, “the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural objects the 1970 convention: past and future”
3. https://catalogus.boekman.nl/pub/P19-0434.pdf
4. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022DC0 800
5. https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9962-2021-INIT/en/pdf
7. Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1745 of 24 June 2024 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine
8. “The Role of the EPPO in Combating Crime in the Cultural Sector: The Case of the Regional Museum in Olomouc”
9. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2023/733120/IPOL_S TU(2023)733120_EN.pdf
11. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.fatf-gafi.or g/content/dam/fatf-gafi/reports/Money-Laundering-Terrorist-Financing-Art-Anti quities-Market.pdf.coredownload.pdf
12. Research for CULT Committee – Protecting cultural heritage from armed conflicts in Ukraine and beyond
14. “Combating Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects to Defend Peace and Security, Kristin Hausler and Andrzej Jakubowski”