{"id":169462,"date":"2024-01-13T15:53:45","date_gmt":"2024-01-13T15:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=169462"},"modified":"2024-02-12T09:42:20","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T09:42:20","slug":"rybolovlev-russian-billionaires-art-fraud-case-against-sothebys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/art-and-culture\/rybolovlev-russian-billionaires-art-fraud-case-against-sothebys\/","title":{"rendered":"Rybolovlev Russian Billionaire&#8217;s Art Fraud Case Against Sotheby&#8217;s"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explore the complex legal battle between Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and Sotheby&#8217;s auction house, involving allegations of massive art fraud and deceit in the art world.<\/span><\/p>\n           <!--  <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n                jQuery(document).ready(function() {\r\n                    jQuery(\".key-accordion-item .key-menu\").on(\"click\", function() {\r\n                        if (jQuery(this).parent().hasClass(\"active\")) {\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                        } else {\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-content\").slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-accordion-item\").removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().addClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideDown();\r\n                        }\r\n                    });\r\n                })\r\n            <\/script> -->\r\n\r\n\r\n            <!-- start html -->\r\n\r\n            <div class=\"news-key-takeaway-wapper\">\r\n                                <span style=\"background-color:#4db2ee;\">Key Takeaways<\/span>\r\n                <ul class=\"news-key-nbox\" style=\"border-color:#4db2ee;background-color:rgba(77, 178, 238, 0.1);\">\r\n                                                        <li>Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev accuses Sotheby's of complicity in a multi-million dollar art fraud.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>The case focuses on inflated artwork prices, including the sale of Leonardo da Vinci's \"Salvator Mundi.\"<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Sotheby's denies the allegations, asserting adherence to legal and industry standards.<\/li>\r\n                                                <\/ul>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            \n<h2><b>Rybolovlev vs. Sotheby&#8217;s: The High-Stakes Art Fraud Allegations<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/art-and-culture\/the-international-olympic-committees-decision-on-russian-and-belarusian-athletes-controversial-and-uncertain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Russian<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev has accused the renowned auction house Sotheby&#8217;s of participating in an elaborate art fraud scheme. This high-profile legal battle revolves around the sale of masterpieces, including Leonardo da Vinci&#8217;s &#8220;Salvator Mundi.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Accusation<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rybolovlev alleges that Sotheby&#8217;s colluded with art dealer Yves Bouvier to inflate the values of artworks, leading him to overpay significantly. He spent approximately $2 billion from 2002 to 2014 to acquire a collection of world-class art. Rybolovlev claims Bouvier, who assisted in acquiring these artworks, deceived him by purchasing the works at a lower price and then selling them to him at much higher prices.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Key Artworks and Financial Implications<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Famous artworks involved include Gustav Klimt&#8217;s &#8220;Wasserschlangen II,&#8221; Amedeo Modigliani&#8217;s &#8220;T\u00eate,&#8221; and Ren\u00e9 Magritte\u2019s &#8220;Le Domaine d\u2019Arnheim.&#8221; Rybolovlev sold &#8220;Salvator Mundi&#8221; in 2017 for $450.3 million, a record price for a painting. He claims that the total overpayment caused by Bouvier&#8217;s markups amounts to approximately $1 billion on 38 paintings over 11 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Legal Proceedings<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The case, officially titled Accent Delight International Ltd et al v Sotheby&#8217;s et al, is being heard in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. US district court judge Jesse Furman has ruled that Sotheby&#8217;s must face part of the lawsuit, particularly fraud-related claims involving the sales of four artworks: &#8220;Salvator Mundi,&#8221; &#8220;T\u00eate,&#8221; &#8220;Wasserschlangen II,&#8221; and &#8220;Le Domaine d\u2019Arnheim.&#8221; The trial is expected to provide insight into high-stakes art transactions and their impact on auction houses.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Sotheby&#8217;s Defense<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sotheby&#8217;s has consistently denied any wrongdoing, asserting adherence to legal requirements and industry best practices. The auction house claims it had no knowledge of any<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/news\/extensive-theft-and-damage-at-the-british-museum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> fraudulent activities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or misconduct by Bouvier. Sotheby&#8217;s legal team emphasizes that their involvement in the transactions followed standard operating procedures.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Current Status<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of early 2024, the trial is ongoing, with both sides presenting their arguments. Rybolovlev&#8217;s legal team has emphasized the role of Sotheby&#8217;s executives in the alleged fraud, while Sotheby&#8217;s defense focuses on its lack of involvement in Bouvier&#8217;s actions.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":10028,"featured_media":170131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[410],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-and-culture"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169462"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}