On Tuesday, contracts between Rybolovlev's company and companies owned by Bouvier for four initial art purchases were presented to the court. Bouvier has cited the sales contracts as evidence that he was openly acting as a dealer who owned the work of art itself.
But Sazanov testified that he did not know the names of the various companies located in various locations, including the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong, and that he had no idea they were connected to Bouvier. Instead, he believed at the time that they represented other third-party owners of the artwork, he said.
Sazanov said that such contracts were forgone in subsequent sales brokered by Bouvier because Bouvier became closer friends with Rybolovlev and insisted that formal contracts slowed them down in the pursuit of trophy art. Therefore, the exact nature of their relationship – buyer and seller or buyer and broker – was never written down. Bouvier sent invoices for artworks from his own company and Sazonov paid them. But Sazanov said he expects all the money will be paid to another owner and Bouvier will not receive a markup. The fact that Bouvier earned the commission only deepened the misunderstanding, he said.
Sotheby's has said that Rybolovlev, a shrewd businessman with considerable wealth, acted unreasonably by relying on what Bouvier told him without putting the terms of their relationship in writing or asking for documents as proof of the prices, which Bouvier paid to acquire art for him.
Rybolovlev has no basis “to accuse Sam Valette or anyone else at Sotheby's of Bouvier's misconduct,” Sotheby's lawyer Shudofsky said Monday.
On Tuesday, Sazanov described how Bouvier had forwarded notes he received from Valette about the works Rybolovlev was buying. In the notes, the Sotheby's expert praised the quality of the artworks or discussed pricing, which Sazonov said made him feel comfortable conducting the deals. He said he was convinced of the “significance and quality of the painting, which justifies a very high price.”
The trial offers a rare glimpse into the often mysterious inner workings of the art trade. Rybolovlev attended the trial this week, sitting next to his lawyers and listening through an interpreter. His lawyers said he would testify at the trial, which is expected to last about six weeks.