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Yves Bouvier fully cleared of all charges in his dispute against Russia Oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev

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The Geneva prosecutor’s office has dropped the last legal case initiated by Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev against Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier (pictured). In his final ruling order, the Prosecutor confirms that, contrary to what Rybolovlev's lawyers have claimed, there was no fraud, no mismanagement, no breach of trust and no money laundering. Since January 2015, Rybolovlev and his lawyers have lost all of the nine court cases filed against Bouvier over the intervening years, including in Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Monaco and Geneva.

"Today marks the end of a six-year nightmare,” said Bouvier. “For reasons that had nothing to do with my art dealing activities, an oligarch tried and failed to destroy me, mobilizing his extraordinary financial resources and influence. He tried to asphyxiate me financially by launching bogus lawsuits all over the world. Spending millions he commissioned large communications firms to destroy my reputation and private intelligence agents to track me everywhere. Over the course of his attack, every legal firm I worked with and myself were targeted by coordinated and sophisticated e-mail hacks. He tried to destroy my business, my reputation and my life. But he failed. All courts have confirmed my innocence. Truth prevailed, as I said from the very first day of his attacks. This is a complete victory.”

"Rybolovlev's attacks against me had nothing to do with the sale of art,” Bouvier also explained. “Firstly, he was half-way through the most expensive divorce in history and wanted to depreciate the value of his art collection. Secondly, he wanted to punish me for having refused to corrupt Swiss judges for his very expensive divorce. Thirdly, he wanted to steal my freeport business in Singapore and build his own for the Russian Federation in Vladivostok."

Bouvier, who had to stop almost all his art dealings, logistics and transportation activities to defend himself against the massive attacks during these last six years, suffers immense damages. The tables have now turned: Rybolovlev (and his lawyer Tetiana Bersheda) find themselves under three criminal investigations in Monaco, Switzerland and France, and is suspected of having instrumentalised and corrupted public officials in the process of his attacks against Bouvier. Ten people, including several former Ministers, are being investigated as part of what is known as 'Monacogate', the largest corruption scandal in Monaco’s history.

David Bitton, a lawyer for Bouvier in Geneva, commented that: “Today marks the end of the scandalous vendetta initiated by Rybolovlev in 2015, and a complete and absolute victory for our client.”

Bouvier was represented in his cases by: David Bitton and Yves Klein (Monfrini Bitton Klein); Alexandre Camoletti (Amuruso & Camoletti); Frank Michel (MC Etude d’Avocats); Charles Lecuyer (Ballerio & Lecuyer); Luc Brossolet (AAB Avocats); Ron Soffer (Soffer Avocats); PRESS RELEASE Francois Baroin and Francis Spziner (Stas & Associés); Edwin Tong, Kristy Tan Ruan, Peh Aik Hin (Allen & Glendhill); Pierre-Alain Guillaume (Walder Wyss), Daniel Levy (McKool Smith), Mark Bedford (Zhong Lun).

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