A lawsuit against a businessman from Switzerland by a business leader in Russia will be heard in Singapore courts. The lawsuit alleges that Yves Bouvier, the businessman, inflated painting prices before obtaining them for Dmitry Rybolovlev, the business leader, enabling Bouvier to earn lots of extra cash on the sales.
Though Bouvier has argued that the cases should instead proceed in court in Switzerland, Singaporean judges have declined, saying that the fact that Bouvier is a permanent resident of Singapore and that a large number of the sales took place in Singapore means that the case should be tried in Singaporean courts. At issue will be determining whether Bouvier acted as an agent of Rybolovlev or if Bouvier was acting as an independent seller. Bouvier contends that he was an independent seller, meaning it was his right as a businessman to name the prices as he pleased to make a living. Bouvier netted about US $1 billion from the sales. Another woman who was involved in the acquisitions and sales at this time was also named in the lawsuit.
Rybolovlev and two businesses filed suit against Bouvier, saying the Swiss businessman was fraudulent when he inflated the price of the art, breached his duties as an agent, and kept secret profits. The art consisted of mostly paintings from such art masters as Picasso, Van Gogh, and others.
Bouvier runs a business for art and valuables storage, which operates in both Luxembourg and Singapore. Rybolovlev runs a fertilizer business and also owns a soccer team. The relationship between the two began in 2003 when Bouvier helped the Russian magnate obtain a total of 38 pieces of art through a company of Rybolovlev’s. A total of 22 of the paintings during the period in question were obtained while Bouvier was physically located in Singapore, explaining the judge’s ruling that the lawsuit hearings should proceed in Singaporean courts rather than Swiss courts.
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For more on the lawsuit, go to http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/spore-court-to-hear-14b-art-suit.