Sotheby’s Beats Most of Russian Tycoon’s Fraud Suit
- Auction house still faces potential trial over other sales
- Rybolovlev claims Sotheby’s helped in scheme to overcharge him
Dmitri Rybolovlev
Photographer: Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images
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Sotheby’s won dismissal of most claims by a Russian billionaire who accused the auction house of helping to defraud him in the purchase of a world-class art collection featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, and Henri Matisse.
But Sotheby’s isn’t off the hook yet. US District Judge Jesse Furman on March 1 allowed two companies controlled by Dmitry Rybolovlev to pursue some claims in a lawsuit alleging that Sotheby’s helped Swiss art broker Yves Bouvier overcharge Rybolovlev for several art pieces, including Salvator Mundi, which is credited to Leonardo da Vinci.