In New York Court, Dealer Yves Bouvier Seeks Sotheby’s Records as Part of New French Criminal Case
Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier filed a request in US federal court in the Southern District of New York seeking an order compelling Sotheby’s to produce records tied to the private sale of Pablo Picasso’s “Intimité (Femmes et Enfants).” Court filings say Bouvier bought the painting from French dealer Antoine Peretti in April 2024 for $7.25 million under an agreement to split any resale profit above that price, but alleges the work was resold weeks later through Milocci Limited (de Sarthe Gallery) to Sotheby’s for a net seller price of $9 million without his knowledge. Bouvier claims Peretti neither returned the $7.25 million nor paid him roughly $875,000 as his share of the alleged profit, leading him to file a criminal complaint with the Paris prosecutor earlier this month for breach of trust. Using 28 U.S.C. § 1782, Bouvier is seeking Sotheby’s sale agreement, payment and wire records, and documents identifying where the proceeds were sent, arguing Sotheby’s New York headquarters makes it a key source for evidence in the French case.
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This story was covered in Museums Under Scrutiny, AI Hunts Hidden Loot