Dmitry Rybolovlev, President of As Monaco Football Club SA, arrives in court in New York, USA, on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. Auction house Sotheby’s abused its privileges, power and reputation to defraud Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev of millions of dollars while he built a world-class art collection, the wealthy businessman’s lawyers argued on the first day of a closely watched trial.
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Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev lost a lawsuit in federal court in New York on Tuesday in which he accused auction house Sotheby’s of helping an art buyer defraud the oligarch by significantly overpaying him for various works of art.
A jury found in Sotheby’s favor on all counts Rybolovlev alleged in the civil suit, which related to purchases by the 57-year-old fertilizer tycoon through art buyer Yves Bouvier worth more than a hundred million dollars.
The auction house said in a statement that the ruling “reaffirms Sotheby’s longstanding commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethics and professionalism in all aspects of the art market.”
“We are grateful to the jury for their verdict, which fully exonerates Sotheby’s of any alleged wrongdoing,” Sotheby’s said.
“Throughout this process there was a glaring lack of evidence on the part of the plaintiff, and as was clear from the outset, Sotheby’s strictly adhered to all legal requirements, financial obligations and industry best practices in transacting these works of art.”
Rybolovlev’s lawyer Daniel Kornstein said: “With this case, we have achieved our goal of shedding light on the lack of transparency that plagues the art market. This secrecy made it difficult to prove a complex case of complicity in fraud.”
“This ruling only underscores the need for reforms to take place outside of the courtroom,” Kornstein added.
Rybolovlev bought a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, from former President Donald Trump in 2008.
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2024-01-30 21:03:33
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