Monaco’s court of appeal today, 12 November, rejected a request from Yves Bouvier, the Swiss businessman and “freeport king”, to quash a fraud case brought against him by the family trust associated with Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Russian billionaire and owner of AS Monaco football club. Bouvier filed his request to annul proceedings in July, citing “procedural irregularities” and questioned the “systematic bias” of investigators.
The decision means a criminal complaint filed in Monaco in January, accusing Bouvier of complicity in money laundering and fraud, can go ahead. Rybolovlev says Bouvier overcharged him by $1bn on the sale of 37 works of art between 2003 and 2014. Among them, it is believed, is Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, 1498-1506. Bouvier firmly denies all charges.
A spokesman for Bouvier says the value of Rybolovlev’s collection continues to increase, thanks in part to the Swiss businessman. Citing the sale of Modigliani’s Nu Couché at Christie’s on 9 November for $170.4m, the spokesman says Rybolovlev acquired a set of four nudes by Modigliani for around $200m. “Today, the most conservative estimate for the nudes would be $500m,” he says.
However, a spokesman for the Rybolovlev family trust says: “Bouvier dishonestly inflated the value of each work of art, thus profiting from a significant mark-up that was hidden from the buyer, in addition to the commission he was paid for to act as agent.”
According to the spokesman, the Russian billionaire is also suing Bouvier in Singapore, where he opened a freeport in 2010. After an injunction imposed in March prevented Bouvier from disposing of any personal assets worth up to $500m, Singapore’s court of appeal unfroze Bouvier’s assets this August.
