Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg has issued a U.K. High Court writ against Christie's auction house over a painting that experts now claim is a fake, a leading business daily said Monday.
Vekselberg, 53, the owner of the Renova Group, bought the Odalisque painting by artist Boris Kustodiev in November 2005 for $2.9 million, Kommersant wrote.
However, his Aurora Fine Arts Investment project has since been informed by a number of Russian experts that the painting is a fake. The group contacted Christie's in 2006 asking for the money back, plus damages.
The auction house responded that it wanted to open its own investigation.
Aurora subsequently returned the painting last year, but has yet to learn how long the investigation will last.
In 2004, Vekselberg bought nine Faberge eggs from the Forbes collection for some $110 million.
MOSCOW, July 19 (RIA Novosti)
