A federal jury ruled Tuesday in favor of Sotheby’s in a trial in which Russian billionaire oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev accused the auction house of defrauding him of tens of millions of dollars in art sales.
Rybolovlev accused Sotheby’s of conspiring with Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier to deceive him into paying inflated prices for four works, including “Salvator Mundi,” a depiction of Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that would become the artwork most expensive sold at auction.
Sotheby’s, which is a private company, had long maintained that it had no knowledge that Bouvier may have lied and that it was not responsible for its dealings with Rybolovlev.
Bouvier was not charged and has maintained he did nothing wrong.
Rybolovlev, 57, is worth $6.4 billion after building his fortune with potassium fertilizers, according to Forbes magazine. He is also the majority owner of the AS Monaco soccer team, although this year it was reported that he is exploring a sale.
Dmitry Rybolovlev, 57, is worth $6.4 billion after building his fortune with potassium fertilizers, according to Forbes magazine. REUTERS
Daniel Kornstein, Rybolovlev’s lawyer, said the case “achieved our goal of shedding light on the lack of transparency affecting the art market. That secrecy made it difficult to prove a complex case of complicity in fraud.”
Sotheby’s said the verdict reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethics and professionalism, and reflected a “flagrant lack of evidence” that it misled Rybolovlev.
The case has been among the most high-profile art fraud disputes in recent years, offering a glimpse into an often secretive industry where wealthy buyers sometimes don’t know who they are buying from.
AP “Salvator Mundi” by Leonardo da Vinci
Jurors in Manhattan federal court needed less than a day to reach a verdict in a trial that lasted about three weeks.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman had last March allowed Rybolovlev to file lawsuits based on fraud over the da Vinci and the works of Gustav Klimt, René Magritte and Amedeo Modigliani.
Rybolovlev originally sued over more than 15 world-class works of art for which he paid more than $1 billion, and accused Bouvier of collecting hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden markups.
Furman dismissed fraud allegations about the other 11 works, including works by Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Rybolovlev was allowed to sue for “Salvator Mundi” even though his property had proven to be unusually profitable.
According to court documents, Bouvier bought the Da Vinci for $83 million in 2013 and sold it the next day to Rybolovlev for $127.5 million.
Rybolovlev sold “Salvator Mundi” at Christie’s in 2017 for $450.3 million, a record price for a work of art at auction.
Sotheby’s said the verdict reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethics and professionalism, and reflected a “flagrant lack of evidence” that it misled Rybolovlev. Christopher Sadowski
The case is Accent Delight International Ltd et al v. Sotheby’s et al, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-09011.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn