(New York) The New York State Attorney sued the Sotheby’s auction house, owned by French businessman Patrick Drahi, accusing it of facilitating use by one from its main customers fake tax exemption certificates.
Posted on November 6, 2020 at 3:40 p.m.
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“Sotheby’s broke the law and stole millions of dollars from New York taxpayers to boost sales,” prosecutor Letitia James said in a statement on Friday. “The complaint should send the clear message that no one is above the law,” she added.
The complaint follows a court case between New York State and Porsal Equities, owned by an art collector not directly named, said the prosecutor.
As part of an amicable settlement with the State of New York in 2018, the collector and Porsal had admitted having benefited from tax exemptions on the purchase of works of art in 2010 and 2015 thanks to resale certificates reserved for art dealers. This, while he was not a trader and did not intend to resell the works.
According to the prosecutor, Sotheby’s accepted these certificates when the auction house knew he was not a trader, and even helped produce these certificates.
The alleged facts predate the acquisition in 2019 of Sotheby’s – the world’s second auction house behind Christie’s – by French telecommunications magnate Patrick Drahi.
When contacted, Sotheby’s said “vigorously refute these unfounded allegations”.
The auction house stressed “having fully cooperated with the prosecutor’s office” during the investigation of Porsal, and having “provided the majority of the evidence used to reach an amicable settlement”.
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