Several news organizations, including Bloomberg, the Financial Times and The Telegraph, are reporting that a Swiss businessman who runs several warehouses for fine art was arrested in Monaco on charges of art fraud. According to the Bloomberg report specific charges have not been released, but they appear to be associated with fraud and manipulation of prices.
Bloomberg reports
Source: BloombergA Swiss businessman who runs a network of warehouses for fine art and other treasures was arrested in Monaco this week as part of an investigation into allegations of art fraud, an official in the prosecutor’s office said.
Yves Bouvier is president of Fine Art Transports Natural Le Coultre SA, a Swiss-based company specializing in the storage and shipping of artworks. His clients include Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, whose lawyer said in a statement he received information of “possible fraud and manipulation of prices in the art market by Mr. Bouvier and his accomplices.”
The official for the prosecutor’s office declined to detail the investigation or reason for his arrest. She asked not to be identified by name, citing office policy.
Bouvier denied “all responsibility” and said that Rybolovlev’s allegations are based on “imaginary maneuvers,” in a statement from his lawyers provided by his company. His lawyers claimed in the statement that Rybolovlev’s allegations were probably motivated by his expensive divorce settlement.
A Swiss court in May, 2014 awarded Rybolovlev’s ex-wife, Elena Rybolovleva, more than 4.02 billion Swiss francs ($4.22 billion) in what her lawyer said was probably the largest amount ever in a divorce case in Switzerland.
‘Fraudulent Scheme’
Rybolovlev is worth $10 billion, making him Russia’s 11th richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index. He made his fortune selling stakes in Russian fertilizer producers Silvinit OJSC and Uralkali PJSC. In addition to the French soccer team AS Monaco, Rybolovlev owns works by artists including Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso. He’s worked with Bouvier for over a decade, according to Tetiana Bersheda, the lawyer.
“The scope and all the victims of the fraudulent scheme created by Mr. Bouvier have not yet been identified,” Bersheda said in the statement. The Rybolovlev family trusts the investigators will “provide more transparency on the world art market and enhance its good practices.”
Natural Le Coultre operates a 22,000 square-meter facility in Geneva where the world’s rich can discreetly store their valuable artwork, jewelery, vintage cars and other valuables. It also owns so-called freeports in Luxembourg, Monaco and Singapore.
The Telegraph in London reported the arrest earlier.
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