Yves Bouvier is either one of the world’s sharpest operators or a man with a death wish. In 2013, on behalf of exiled Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Swiss agent purchased the painting Salvator Mundi, allegedly by Leonardo da Vinci, for $US75 million. He then passed it on to his client for $US127.5 million. The $US50 million mark-up was the boldest of the colossal commissions Bouvier had charged Rybolovlev over the previous decade, a total that exceeded $1 billion.
When the Russian learned the true price of the Salvator Mundi from an article in The New York Times, he launched a lawsuit against Bouvier, who was arrested in 2015. He was released on €10 million bail, and is still fighting in the courts. His argument, essentially, is that he did nothing illegal.
