Fraud

‘Portuguese Saatchi’ in hot water over alleged €1bn debt

Three Portuguese banks have filed a lawsuit to recover funds from Joe Berardo, whose vast collection on show in Lisbon is one of the most visited in Portugal

London dealers embroiled in Ezra Chowaiki fraud scheme over $1.2m Chagall painting

Fresh complaint seeks the return of the work allegedly sold by the disgraced Manhattan dealer under false pretences

Jean-Claude Juncker dismisses claims that freeports are ‘systematically used to commit fraud’

European Commission president rebuffs German MEP Wolf Klinz's demand for a proper investigation into the management of Le Freeport Luxembourg

Russian billionaire Dmitri Rybolovlev charged in corruption probe brought by Monaco police

The formal investigation follows his detainment earlier this week related to an ongoing spat with the art dealer Yves Bouvier

Guy Wildenstein cleared of tax evasion for a second time in Paris

Franco-American scion of art dealing dynasty was accused of hiding art and other property worth hundreds of millions of euros from French authorities

Lawnews

New York art dealer pleads guilty to multimillion-dollar fraud

The court has ordered that Ezra Chowaiki forfeit over $16.6m as well as works by Picasso, Calder, Chagall and Degas

Picasso painting offered in money-laundering scheme, US feds say

London art dealer Matthew Green embroiled in case that involves attempted sale of a painting to an undercover agent to 'clean up' £6.7m, court documents state

Lawnews

Dealer of works stolen by Jasper Johns's assistant can be charged with racketeering, court rules

The decision adds another wrinkle to the unsettled case law surrounding liability in art fraud

Fraudnews

Galleries hit by cyber crime wave

Hackers are using an email scam to intercept payments between galleries, collectors and others

Lawyers battle to tip balance of evidence before Knoedler trial

Both sides seek to exclude key witnesses and evidence from the forgery case which is set to begin on 25 January

Online art sales are on the up—and so is fraud

Retailers need to do more to protect buyers from fraudsters selling fakes as online art businesses attract more investment

Lawnews

Art collection of bankrupt German art consultancy to go under hammer

Sale of more than 2,000 works from Helge Achenbach's company expected to fetch between €3m and €4.5m

Lawnews

Change in governance at Luxembourg Freeport after Swiss investor’s arrest

Yves Bouvier is reportedly to be replaced by a group of independent directors

Trust no one: victory for Gagosian in two-year case

Court concludes that dealers’ statements of value are legally meaningless

Newsarchive

China Guardian head sounds warning note on sales and fraud

Hu Yanyan says that results will still be “healthy”

Knoedlerarchive

Names of buyers deceived by Knoedler Gallery fakes disclosed

The document details museums, art dealers and private collectors who have brought charges against the gallery and its disgraced director

Fraudarchive

Christie’s sold fake Knoedler Rothko ‘worth’ $4m

Christie's finds itself caught up in the ongoing forgery scandal

Forgeriesarchive

Growth in internet sales forces fraud issue

Identifying forgeries being sold on websites is not enough to tackle the problem

Knoedlerarchive

Knoedler saga shows no sign of abating after last month's settlement as multiple suits remain unresolved

Several of the New York gallery's representatives have been indicted for engineering the sale of Abstract Expressionist forgeries

Lawsuitsarchive

Collector and Madoff associate Ezra Merkin finds himself in court

He is accused of defrauding his investors, which include charities

Collectorsarchive

Russian art collector could face seven years in prison

Vladimir Nekrasov has been charged with corporate tax evasion

Lawsuitsarchive

Dodgy dealers, curators and collectors named in the Marion True trial in Rome

The latest in the trial of former Getty antiquities curator, Marion True, and the Paris-based dealer Robert Hech both charged with conspiring to receive illegally excavated antiquities

Revealed: the eBay Banksy print fraud

Unauthorised works by the anonymous graffiti artist have been sold on the internet; prices for these have been illegally inflated with fake bids

Art marketarchive

Warhol Brillo boxes could be fake

Allegations circulate that curator Pontus Hultén created unauthorised replicas

Newsarchive

Accountant alleges major fraud at art school founded by Andy Warhol

Charges focus on former executive director of the New York Academy of Art

Respected Pre-Colombian art dealers indicted over fraud

The Merrin brothers are accused of defrauding clients out of millions of dollars

Fraudarchive

Former French Foreign Minister and a leading auctioneer ordered to trial over money kept back from Giacometti estate sales

Roland Dumas and Jacques Tajan face accusations of abuse of confidence after evidence suggests proceeds from auction were illicitly retained