A London court has dismissed a case against the UK subsidiary of Hauser & Wirth and the art shipping company Artay Rauchwerger Solomons. Both been charged with breaching British-imposed sanctions against Russia last November.
Following an investigation by the UK tax authority last year, it was alleged that the gallery’s London branch had made the George Condo work on paper Escape from Humanity (2021) available to a person ‘connected with Russia’ – the collector Alexander Popov, whose name along with the work in question has now been made public in the court case – despite the UK’s ongoing ban on exporting luxury items to the country.
On Thursday, London’s Southwark Crown Court dismissed the charge, ruling that there was not sufficient evidence that Popov was a Russian resident at the time of the deal.
‘We are delighted that the court has dismissed the case against our UK gallery in its entirety. From the outset, we strongly contested these proceedings and denied any wrongdoing. We continue to be fully committed to complying with all our legal obligations including with respect to sanctions. We are pleased that this matter is now closed’, a spokesperson for Hauser & Wirth told ArtReview in a statement.
