Several art world commenters have wondered why Helly Nahmad was required to surrender a Raoul Dufy painting. The Wall Street Journal explains but ends up revealing the gap between what the government thinks the art trade does and what dealers actually do:
Prosecutors had alleged that, along with laundering tens of millions of dollars, Nahmad committed fraud by trying to sell a piece of art for $300,000 that was worth at least $50,000 less. He was required to turn over the painting to the government as part of a $6.4 million judgment.
It would be interesting to know on what basis the government determined the painting was fraudulently over priced.
