The billion-dollar scam. Rybolovlev accused Sotheby's of collusion with the art dealer Bouvier

Russian businessman and former Uralkali owner Dmitry Rybolovlev is seeking compensation from the Sotheby's auction house for helping to defraud Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier. He assessed the damages to $380 million, Bloomberg reports.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs are Accent Delight and Xitrans Finance, companies of the Rybolovlev family trust.

According to the statement, over a long period of time, Sotheby's helped Bouvier to induce plaintiffs to buy artworks at inflated prices. Over more than 10 years of cooperation, Bouvier purchased 38 works of famous artists for Rybolovlev worth more than $2 billion. The businessman notes that he paid the art dealer a commission for "made-up" negotiations with sellers. As the result, this collaboration became famous as the Bouvier Rybolovlev case.

"Instead, Bouvier negotiated significant discounts and pocketed the difference. Through this scheme, Bouvier defrauded the plaintiffs of more than $1 billion," the suit states. According to the plaintiffs, Sotheby's "knowingly and willingly" facilitated the fraudulent scheme.

"Sotheby's actions inspired plaintiffs' confidence and trust in Bouvier and made the entire fraudulent scheme plausible and trustworthy," the lawsuit says.

The text of the claim notes that the incident is the "largest art fraud in history". In turn, in Sotheby's denies the charges. The defendant will ask the court to dismiss the claims.

Rybolovlev's lawsuit with Bouvier continues for three years. Earlier, the Federal Court of New York closed the case on the suit of Rybolovlev to Bouvier after the sale of the entrepreneur's painting "Savior of the World" by Leonardo Da Vinci for $450 million in 2017. The businessman purchased the painting through Bouvier for $127.5 million.

Also Yves Bouvier helped Rybolovlev with the purchase of works by Rothko, Modigliani, Klimt and Picasso. The businessman tried to sue the art dealer in France, Monaco and Singapore.