Oligarch ends legal feud over disputed Da Vinci painting

A RUSSIAN oligarch has ended an eight-year legal battle with his former art dealer over allegations of fraud that involved paintings, including a disputed work by Leonardo da Vinci.

Dmitry Rybolovlev, 56, and Yves Bouvier, a Swiss art dealer and businessman, have settled their long-running dispute after a bitter and acrimonious legal war.

Mr Rybolovlev, who owns the football club AS Monaco, launched nine civil and criminal claims in Monaco, New York, Singapore and Switzerland against Mr Bouvier in 2015 accusing him of allegedly overcharging by nearly $1bn (£800m) while buying 38 paintings on his behalf.

One of the artworks was Salvator Mundi, a painting by the Italian Renaissance master known as the Last Leonardo but whose authenticity has been questioned by some experts.

Mr Rybolovlev, who made his fortune through a Russian fertiliser business, had commissioned Mr Bouvier to amass a treasure trove of artworks by legendary painters, notably Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet and Matisse.

Mr Bouvier said in 2019: “Rybolovlev’s attacks against me had nothing to do with the sale of art. He was trying to artificially depreciate the value of his collection in the midst of his divorce proceeding.” Mr Rybolovlev filed an avalanche of legal claims against his former art dealer.

But the legal tables were dramatically turned when the Russian billionaire was accused of corruption.

A Monaco justice minister was dismissed and two senior police officers were suspended after evidence emerged suggesting the oligarch tried to influence the criminal investigation into Mr Bouvier. Hundreds of leaked text messages published by Le Monde detailed how the Russian had funded a trip for the justice minister and his wife at his Swiss chalet in Gstaad.

Justice minister Philippe Narmino took early retirement in the wake of the Le Monde report in 2017, saying he could no longer carry out his duties because of “personal allegations against me and the repeated attacks against judicial institutions”.

Sandrine Giroud, a lawyer representing Mr Rybolovlev, told The Daily Telegraph: “The parties have reached a confidential settlement concerning all their disputes that involved proceedings in various jurisdictions.

“They have no claims against each other and will refrain from commenting on their past disputes”.

Mr Bouvier said: “Today marks the end of a nine-year nightmare. Courts all around the world have now unanimously concluded I was innocent.”

An eight-year legal battle has ended involving 38 paintings including Salvator Mundi, a work claimed to be by Leonardo da Vinci but whose authenticity has been questioned