Art’s $1 Billion Question: Was Russian a Victim or Savant?
- Rybolovlev accuses Geneva dealer of fraud of up to $1 billion
- Russian had ‘special knowledge’ of art, company documents say
Dmitry Rybolovlev poses in Paris in front of two allegedly stolen paintings by Pablo Picasso, which he purchased from a Swiss art dealer.
Photographer: Patrick KovarikAFP/Getty ImagesIs art collector Dmitry Rybolovlev an unwitting victim of fraud, or a savvy buyer who should have known what he was getting into? Was Yves Bouvier acting as his buyer’s agent, or simply as a dealer?
Depends on whom you ask. Which roles the men were playing as Rybolovlev bought hundreds of millions worth of paintings in recent years from Bouvier is at the heart of a feud that has gripped the art world, with previously unreported legal documents adding fresh ammunition to the battle.