Among the masterpieces at issue in the trial was Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi
Auction house Sotheby’s faced accusations at a NY trial yesterday that claimed it aided in defrauding Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev of more than $1 billion by inflating the prices of artworks sold to him between 2002 and 2014.
The case revolves around art broker Yves Bouvier—accused of buying works from Sotheby’s, marking up prices, and reselling them to the Monaco-based billionaire Rybolovlev. They both have already settled out of court last month.
The lawsuit stems from the $2 billion Rybolovlev spent from 2002 to 2014 to acquire a world-class art collection.
Among the masterpieces at issue in the trial was Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi (that Bouvier bought from Sotheby’s for $83 million and sold to Rybolovlev for over $127 million, which Rybolovlev later sold for $450.3 million).
Other artworks with improper markups involve paintings by Gustav Klimt, Amedeo Modigliani and Rene Magritte, and a Modigliani sculpture.
Rybolovlev’s lawyer says Sotheby’s knew of the fraud. The British art auction house’s defense claims it was unaware of any wrongdoing and that Rybolovlev is attempting to blame an innocent party for his lack of due diligence.
