A New York jury ruled in favor of Sotheby’s against Dmitri Rybolovlev. The Russian oligarch accused the auction house of having helped Geneva art dealer Yves Bouvier to inflate the price of several works, including the Salvator Mundi attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.
After a five-hour hearing, the jurors of this civil trial dismissed the “king of potash”. They felt that Dmitri Rybolovlev could have been more circumspect in his purchases, especially since he is considered a person renowned for his financial acumen.
The Russian oligarch accused Sotheby’s of having helped Yves Bouvier who claimed, according to him, to help him with his purchases when he was in fact acting as an art dealer. Four works were at the center of the trial: the Salvator Mundi, as well as a head by Modigliani, a Klimt (Wasserschlangen II) and The Domaine d’Arnheim by Magritte.
The jury found that Sotheby’s was not aware of the maneuver. The question of whether the Genevan had benefited is to be determined between Yves Bouvier and his client.
“Opaque” market
Sotheby’s reacted with satisfaction to this decision: according to it, this verdict “reaffirms the auction house’s commitment to respecting the highest standards of honesty and professionalism.”
The oligarch’s lawyer, Daniel Kornstein, for his part, welcomed the fact that this trial had made it possible to “highlight the lack of transparency that plagues the market” of art.
The Russian billionaire, owner of the AS Monaco football club, has been pursuing the Geneva art dealer for around ten years, whom he accuses of having defrauded him out of a billion euros during the sale of master paintings.
The “Salvator Mundi” attributed to Leonardo da Vinci during its auction in New York, November 15, 2017. [AFP – Drew Angerer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA]
He believes in particular that he was cheated by the Genevan, who sold him the Salvator Mundi for $127.5 million, which the Russian then sold for the record sum of $450 million. He accuses him of having pocketed an exorbitant hidden capital gain of 47.5 million on this painting negotiated for 80 million euros, instead of a commission
The exiled oligarch also claimed to have paid $83 million in 2013 for a Modigliani head on the basis of an upward evaluation obtained by Yves Bouvier a few hours before the sale from a Sotheby’s specialist. The oligarch, 180th largest fortune in the world, was thinking of buying it from a collector who never existed.
Agreement in Geneva
This trial is not the first: Dmitri Rybolovlev has already taken Yves Bouvier to court in Monaco, Singapore, New York, Hong Kong and Switzerland, accusing him of having deceived him about the real value of 38 works totaling two billion of dollars. The Genevan, who was not involved in the New York trial, has always denied any wrongdoing.
The two men reached an amicable agreement a month ago in Geneva. This confidential arrangement covers all disputes which have given rise to proceedings before different courts. As a result, the Geneva public prosecutor closed the last dispute in this case in December.
For one of Sotheby’s lawyers, Marcus Asner, the businessman then set his sights on the auction house, “as if he wanted to pass on the price of his credulity to third parties.”
>> Lire : Criminal proceedings against art dealer Yves Bouvier closed
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2024-01-31 18:44:24
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