Russian billionaire blames Sotheby’s for bad art deals

Dmitry Rybolovlev, president of As Monaco Football Club SA, left, arrives at court in New York, US, on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. Auction house Sothebys abused its privilege, power and reputation to help dupe Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev out of millions of dollars as he built a world-class art collection, lawyers for the wealthy businessman argued on the first day of a closely-watched trial. Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

New York: Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev told a New York jury that he was a mere novice in the mysterious world of high-end art sales and expected Sotheby’s auction house to protect clients from what he describes as rogue art dealers.

Rybolovlev took the stand last week in his US$232.5mil lawsuit against the famed auction house. Over two days, he gave jurors an inside look at the murky relationship between art dealers, brokers and buyers.