The art dealer claims to be a victim of bias in favor of the Russian oligarch in the investigation of alleged thefts of works.
Sotheby’s prepares to defend itself in the great cause that for years has concerned Dmitry Rybolovlev, collector, a Russian businessman, and owner of the football club AS Monaco and Yves Bouvier, Swiss art dealer. According to Rybolovlev, the auction house would help the art dealer to inflate the prices of a series of masterpieces that he later bought and is now ready to sue the company in Britain.
The Purchase
The collector purchased approximately 40 paintings, comprising works by Picasso, Da Vinci, Rothko, Modigliani and Monet, through Yves Bouvier, about a third of these masterpieces was acquired by Bouvier through private sales from Sotheby’s. In particular, it is believed that Bouvier purchased the SalvatorMundiof Da Vinci for 80 million dollars in a private sale from Sotheby’s. And he would then readily sell it for a value of 127 million dollars to the Russian collector. For more on this you should follow https://www.buzzfeed.com/bobby77/the-bouvier-affair-the-plot-thickens-1g0ql now.
The roles of the two remain to be established: the Russian claims that Bouvier worked as his agent, while the merchant repeats that he had not always acted as a dealer, without ever buying on behalf of others. A spokesperson for Sotheby’s said: “Sotheby’s considers the accusations made against it and its employee to be groundless. Mr. Rybolovlev has already tried to litigateMonaco and Singapore, Yves Bouvier in France, and has unsuccessful.
Sotheby’s did not participate in any of these proceedings. “But a spokesman for Rybolovlev countered:” We are not discussing the price of the paintings bought with Bouvier’shelp, we are discussing the deception method with which he added fraudulent gains by hiding them from his customer. The process will show how it has succeeded and with those who have worked to do it.
“(RP) we are discussing the deception method with which he added fraudulent gains by hiding them from his client. The process will show how it has succeeded and with those who have worked to do it. “(RP) we are discussing the deception method with which he added fraudulent gains by hiding them from his client. The process will show how it has succeeded and with those who have worked to do it. “(RP)
Suspicions of influence peddling
Published in the French press, text messages from Bersheda’s phone made a scandal in Monaco, appearing to demonstrate that Dmitry Rybolovlev would have benefited from the good relations of his lawyer with the leaders of the Monegasque police and with the Keeper of the Seals of the Principality for trap Mr. Bouvier.
“The exchanges I had with the police officers were part of the ongoing investigation into the scam, where I was involved as a victim advocate. There is absolutely nothing abnormal about that, ” defended Mr. Bersheda again on Friday.
