Russian oligarch and owner of AS Monaco FC, Dmitry Rybolovlev has had a bad run of luck for several years. He was not only told that he had to fork out US$4.5 billion in a contentious divorce battle that has been going on for seven years; he was also swindled by his art dealer.
Trickery Unveiled
An avid art enthusiast, Rybolovlev has an impressive art collection worth around US$1 billion. Many of the billionaire’s art works are by the masters; his collection includes works by Van Gogh, Degas, Picasso and Gauguin. When the wealthy entrepreneur and art collector decided to expand his collection, Swiss art broker Yves Bouvier helped him to acquire a Modigliani nude for US$118 million. Dmitry Rybolovlev was pleased with the purchase – until he had a conversation with Sandy Heller at a New Year’s Eve party in New York. Heller is known as being the art adviser to American billionaire Steve Cohen. Much to Rybolovlev’s shock, Heller told him about a Modigliani nude that Steve Cohen recently sold to an anonymous buyer for US$93.5 million.
Dmitry Rybolovlev Was the Anonymous Buyer
Once he discovered that he was taken for a ride worth US$22 million, Rybolovlev started legal proceedings against his broker Yves Bouvier. The next step was an orchestrated ambush in which Bouvier was arrested when he thought he was going to a meeting about the sale of yet another work of expensive art. He was taken into custody and charged with fraud and money laundering.
Out on Bail, but for How Long?
The European art market is a close community and rumours spread very fast. Although it was soon revealed (on the grapevine) that there may be others who fell prey to the alleged scam, identities of other so-called victims have yet to be made known. Rumors state that injured parties have been in contact with Rybolovlev’s lawyer and allegedly include wealthy individuals from the US, UK and Asia. Bouvier was released on €10 million bail.
Ready for War
In an interview with the Swiss magazine Le Temps, Bouvier claimed that the motivation behind the proceedings against him is greed. According to the infuriated art broker, Rybolovlev owes his company a large sum of money and the drama is about avoiding his debt. When confronted about the substantial discrepancy between the buying and selling price of the art work, Bouvier responded by saying that he has never been a broker and thus the industry standard of 2% commission does not apply to him. According to him it is an ‘administrative charge’ and not a commission. Whether the court will believe Bouvier’s claim of innocence remains to be seen.