Russian billionaire loses art fraud suit against Sotheby’s over $160 million

NEW YORK (AP) — Russian billionaire art collector Dmitry Rybolovlev lost a legal fight with Sotheby’s when a U.S. jury sided with the auction house. The decision was made Tuesday against the businessman’s claims that the auction house ripped him off. Rybolovlev alleged Sotheby’s helped a Swiss art dealer cheat him out of over $160 million by quietly imposing huge markups on works that he acquired, including Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi.” Sotheby’s has maintained it knew nothing of any misconduct and said it had followed all legal, financial and industry standards. Swiss broker Yves Bouvier and Rybolovlev settled in December for undisclosed terms. Bouvier’s lawyers say he “strongly objects to any allegation of fraud.”