A federal jury on Tuesday ruled in favor of Sotheby’s in a trial in which billionaire Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev accused the auction house of defrauding him out of tens of millions of dollars in art sales.
Rybolovlev accused Sotheby’s of colluding with Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier to trick him into paying inflated prices for four works including “Salvator Mundi,” a depiction of Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that would be the most expensive work of art sold at auction.
Sotheby’s, which is privately held, has long insisted that it had no knowledge that Bouvier might be lying, and that it was not responsible for its dealings with Rybolovlev.
Bouvier is not a defendant, and insists he did nothing wrong.
Rybolovlev, 57, is worth $6.4 billion after building his fortune in potash fertilizer, according to Forbes magazine. He is also the majority owner of AS Monaco soccer team, although it has been reported this year to explore a sale.
Dmitry Rybolovlev, 57, is worth $6.4 billion after building his fortune in potash fertilizer, according to Forbes magazine. Reuters
Daniel Kornstein, a lawyer for Rybolovlev, said the case “achieves our goal of shedding light on the lack of transparency that plagues the art market. The secrecy makes it difficult to prove complex cases of aiding and abetting fraud.”
Sotheby’s said the decision confirmed its commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, ethics and professionalism, and reflected a “significant lack of evidence” that it defrauded Rybolovlev.
The case is among the highest-profile art fraud disputes in recent years, offering a glimpse into an often secretive industry where wealthy buyers sometimes don’t know who they’re buying from.
AP “Salvator Mundi” Leonardo da Vinci
A jury in Manhattan federal court needed less than a day to reach a verdict, in a trial that lasted about three weeks.
US District Judge Jesse Furman in March allowed Rybolovlev to proceed with fraud-based claims over da Vinci, and works by Gustav Klimt, Rene Magritte and Amedeo Modigliani.
Rybolovlev originally sued over 15 world-class works of art for which he paid more than $1 billion, and accused Bouvier of charging hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden markups.
Furman dismissed claims based on fraud over 11 other works, including art from Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Rybolovlev was allowed to sue “Salvator Mundi” even though his ownership had proved extraordinarily profitable.
According to court papers, Bouvier bought the da Vinci for $83 million in 2013 and sold it the next day to Rybolovlev for $127.5 million.
Rybolovlev went on to sell “Salvator Mundi” at Christie’s in 2017 for $450.3 million, a record price for an artwork at auction.
Sotheby’s said the decision confirmed its commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, ethics and professionalism, and reflected a “significant lack of evidence” that it defrauded Rybolovlev. Christopher Sadowski
The case is Accent Delight International Ltd et al v Sotheby’s et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-09011.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
