The Versailles Court of Appeal has ordered art dealer Guy Wildenstein, heir of the eponymous art-dealing dynasty, to pay a €20 million security deposit due to tax avoidance allegations pending against him (see “Art Dealer Guy Wildenstein Caught Up In €600 Million Tax Evasion Case”). The €20 million caution (in French) must be paid to the court before mid-October, according to a source quoted by Le Monde. It will be retained if the art dealer is found guilty.
The final amount is significantly less than the €75 million initially requested by Judge Guillaume Daïeff to guarantee the payment of the avoided taxes and penalties in case of a conviction.
The New York–based president of Wildenstein & Co. is charged with having dodged French inheritance tax after the death of his father, Daniel Wildenstein, by channeling money into offshore accounts located in Guernsey and the Cayman Islands.
The French Treasury notified the Wildenstein family of a €600 million tax adjustment in 2012; €250 million of that adjustment is directly linked to Guy Wildenstein, who contested the notification.
Wildenstein’s sister-in-law Liouba, his nephew Alec Junior, and three family advisers are also being prosecuted in the case.