Yves Bouvier (photo courtesy of Hpetit21/Creative Commons)
While the so-called Bouvier Affair has, more or less, ended, the Swiss art dealer at the center of it all is again in trouble over an incredible amount of unpaid taxes.
Yves Bouvier is a Swiss art dealer who gave his name to the decade-long legal drama between himself and the Russian billionaire Dmitri Rybolovlev. In 2017, Rybolovlev alleged that Bouvier worked as his agent in amassing an impressive art collection. Between 2003 and 2014, Bouvier acquired thirty-eight artworks for which Rybolovlev paid around $2 billion. The most well-known of these works was Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which later sold at Christie’s for $450.3 million w/p, making it the most valuable painting in the world. Despite these substantial profits, Rybolovlev accused Bouvier of defrauding him of over $1 billion and, in some cases, that Sotheby’s helped him to do so. Sotheby’s has since been cleared in a lawsuit that concluded in February 2024. According to the numerous criminal complaints filed over nine years, Bouvier acted as Rybolovlev’s agent and was supposed to charge a 2% fee. However, Bouvier asserts that he was not acting as an agent but an independent dealer and, therefore, could determine his profit margins however he pleased.
While the string of legal actions between the two has concluded, Bouvier is still in trouble with his own government. Since 2020, there have been accusations of tax evasion thrown at Bouvier connected to the issue of his residency. Between 2009 and 2015, Bouvier claimed Singapore as his main place of residence. Therefore, the only tax he would have to pay in his native country is on the property and real estate he holds there. However, according to the courts, Bouvier continued to spend most of his time in Switzerland, conducted most of his business in Europe, and maintained most of his contacts and personal relationships with people on the continent. Therefore, claiming residency in a small Asian city-state seems absolutely ridiculous. In 2009, the alleged first year of living in Singapore, Bouvier only spent 23 days there, compared to 229 days in Geneva. According to investigators, this trend continued throughout the period in question, with Bouvier spending 17.5 days per year on average in Singapore and about 60 days per year in Geneva. According to the court’s recent decision, “Switzerland does indeed represent the center of his vital interests”. Because of this, Swiss courts are ordering Bouvier to pay his federal, regional, and municipal taxes accrued from these six years.
Additionally, Swiss authorities have frozen some of his accounts and confiscated some of the paintings he keeps at the Geneva Freeport. Bouvier has also surrendered some real estate and stocks he owns as collateral. But until his unpaid taxes are sorted out, the courts have ordered that he surrender some of his assets as a sequestration for the government to hold onto until the tax issue is resolved. The 3rd Court of Public Law ordered him to surrender 200 million Swiss francs (or about $230.9 million) until his federal taxes were paid. Meanwhile, the courts have not determined the amount owed to the city and canton of Geneva, but its administrative chamber claims that he owes approximately 712 million francs (or $822.3 million). Plus, a nice cherry on top of this sundae, the Swiss courts have ordered him to pay an extra 100K francs (or $115.5K) in legal fees due to his persistent appeals.
All this, the courts claim, is necessary to prevent Bouvier from transferring his assets outside of Switzerland. The government is only taking steps to prevent Bouvier from further evasion. It seems Geneva wishes to resolve this issue as quickly as possible since the federal sequestrations put in place may be the only thing keeping Bouvier’s other assets in Switzerland. Therefore, approving the city and canton’s own sequestrations, as recommended by the administrative chamber, is of great importance.
Dmitri Rybolovlev, on the other hand, just freed himself of some legal trouble. Switzerland’s attorney-general recently dropped charges against him that he had illegally acted to get Bouvier arrested in Monaco.