New York (AFP)
New York State Attorney sued Sotheby's auction house, owned by French businessman Patrick Drahi, accusing it of facilitating use by one of its main clients false tax exemption certificates.
"Sotheby's broke the law and stole millions of dollars from New York taxpayers to boost sales," prosecutor Letitia James said in a statement on Friday.
"The complaint should send the clear message that no one is above the law," she added.
The complaint is the result of a legal case which had opposed the State of New York to the company Porsal Equities, belonging to an art collector not directly named, specified the prosecutor.
As part of an amicable settlement with the State of New York in 2018, the collector and Porsal had admitted having benefited from tax exemptions on the purchase of works of art in 2010 and 2015 thanks to resale certificates reserved for art dealers.
This, while he was not a trader and did not intend to resell the works.
According to the prosecutor, Sotheby's accepted these certificates when the auction house knew he was not a trader, and even helped produce these certificates.
The alleged facts predate the acquisition in 2019 of Sotheby's - the world's second auction house behind Christie's - by French telecommunications magnate Patrick Drahi.
When contacted, Sotheby's did not immediately react to the announcement of this legal action.
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