Left: Dmitry Rybolovlev. Right: Yves Bouvier
Left: Dmitry Rybolovlev. Photo by Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images. Right: Yves Bouvier, Film still from The Lost Leonardo. Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures.

There is a new development in the epic, seemingly never-ending, legal battle between Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and his nemesis, Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier, who once facilitated his big-money art purchases.

The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s office has dismissed its criminal investigation into Rybolovlev, according to his lawyers, who released a statement saying the news was “welcome,” albeit “expected.”

Back in 2017, Rybolovlev was accused of “acts performed illegally for a foreign state,” for allegedly arranging for Bouvier to be arrested in Monaco, according to a statement from Rybolovelev’s attorneys, Sandrine Giroud and Benoît Mauron.

Rybolovlev has alleged that Bouvier overcharged him on $2 billion worth of art, across more than three dozen art transactions, to the tune of some $1 billion. In Rybolovlev’s view, Bouvier was acting as his advisor and the markups amounted to fraud. Bouvier has maintained that he was operating as a dealer, in line with art-industry norms.

As Artnet reported in 2022, the “foreign state” accusations stemmed from an influence-peddling scandal uncovered in Monaco that was dubbed “Monaco-gate.” Texts and other communications revealed that Rybolovlev had allegedly exchanged gifts and favors with high-ranking Monégasque police officials in exchange for law enforcement actions against Bouvier. At least one Monaco official resigned as a result, explaining that he was seeking an “early retirement.”

The Swiss investigation into Rybolovlev appeared to stem from legal complaints made by Bouvier.

Rybolovlev’s attorneys said that the Swiss Office of the Attorney General had determined that the defense had offered a version of events “casting doubt on the commission of the offense.”

The Swiss OAG did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reps for Yves Bouvier also did not immediately respond to request for comment.

In January, a major part of the saga between the two men came to a close in a federal courthouse in Downtown Manhattan, when Sotheby’s was cleared of the Russian billionaire’s claims that it aided and abetted Bouvier’s alleged fraud.