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To bolster that assertion, Rybolovlev’s lawyers have cited the case of “Salvator Mundi,” a depiction of Christ by da Vinci, which in 2017 became the most expensive work ever sold at auction. In 2013, Bouvier bought the painting for $83 million and then sold it the next day to Rybolovlev for $127.5 million while pretending that he had bargained with an unnamed owner whom he described as “a real tough customer.”
In 2015, when Rybolovlev was becoming suspicious of him, Bouvier asked Sotheby’s for a valuation for the “Mundi.” Valette suggested to a colleague that they value the work at $125 million, but that person did not agree, according to court papers. The judge overseeing the trial, Jesse M. Furman, of Federal District Court, has determined that Valette subsequently asked the colleague to change the valuation to 100 million euros, or roughly $114 million.
Bouvier has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and late last year he and Rybolovlev settled years of legal disputes with a confidential settlement in Geneva.
The trial has drawn significant interest, in part because of the anticipated testimony of a Russian oligarch, and in part because it is providing a glimpse into the opaque world of international art sales.
Sazonov testified on Tuesday about contracts for the first four sales arranged by Bouvier, which listed the sellers as companies in places like the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. Though those companies were affiliated with Bouvier, Sazonov said he was not aware of that at the time of the purchases, believing instead that the works were being sold by third parties. He added that formal contracts were eventually dispensed with altogether after Bouvier said they slowed his efforts to arrange deals.
On Wednesday, Shudofsky, the lawyer for Sotheby’s, returned to that testimony, asking Sazonov whether one written agreement for the sale of a Picasso, which listed Bouvier as a representative of the seller, had “raised any alarm bells.” Sazonov said it had not.
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