Wednesday, March 09, 2016

"If the investigation advances, Bouvier could face fraud charges in the U.S." (UPDATED)

Bloomberg:  "Federal prosecutors, following the lead of European authorities, have opened an inquiry into one of the art world’s consummate insiders, Yves Bouvier[,] ...according to people familiar with the matter. The move marks the first time that federal authorities have trained their sights on a scandal that has shaken Europe’s notoriously private ecosystem of art dealers, middlemen and collectors. While still in its infancy, the U.S. probe also underscores prosecutors’ general concerns about the opacity of the market in art -- which, like high-end real estate, can serve as a conduit for money laundering."

Some background here and here.  And there was a good article in The New Yorker recently which I think I neglected to link to at the time.

UPDATE:  The Art Market Monitor:  A "thin, vague" story.