{"id":2037294,"date":"2026-07-09T15:44:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T12:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2037294"},"modified":"2026-07-09T15:44:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T12:44:40","slug":"hauser-wirth-cleared-of-breaching-uks-russia-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2037294","title":{"rendered":"Hauser & Wirth Cleared of Breaching UK’s Russia Sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tSwiss-based megagallery Hauser & Wirth was cleared on Thursday of charges of violating Russia sanctions by selling an artwork by George Condo to Alexander Popov, a person connected with Russia. Judge Tony Baumgardner dismissed the criminal charges, saying prosecutors had not proven that Popov was a Russian resident at the time of the sale, reports the Independent<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tHis Majesty\u2019s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) had charged the Swiss-based megagallery, which has 17 locations around the globe, including two in the UK, in November 2025.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe gallery had reportedly sold Popov a Condo work on paper, Escape from Humanity <\/em>(2021), in 2022. Also charged was Marylebone-based art shipping company Artay Rauchwerger Solomons. HMRC\u2019s action against Hauser & Wirth is believed to be the first such accusation brought under the law.<\/p>\n

\n\tHauser & Wirth\u2019s legal representative argued that delivery company DHL wrongly entered an address in Moscow rather than in Armenia, notes the Independent<\/em>, adding that Popov had never been sanctioned, that he had \u201cdistanced himself\u201d from the regime of Russian president Vladimir Putin, and that he had renounced his Russian citizenship and acquired properties in Bosnia and Armenia. Prosecutors noted that Popov and his wife had been described as \u201ccollectors based in Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAlthough the artwork was made available to Mr Popov, I have found the prosecution couldn\u2019t prove he was a person connected with Russia,\u201d said Baumgardner. \u201cThat failure is fatal to all counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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George Condo, in his studio.<\/span>Courtesy Hauser and Wirth.<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are delighted that the court has dismissed the case against our UK gallery in its entirety,\u201d said the gallery in a statement emailed to ARTnews<\/em>. \u201cFrom 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCondo rejoined the gallery yesterday, less than a year after leaving its 111-strong artist roster for Skarstedt, resuming a relationship that dates back to 2019. The gallery announced exhibitions of new and historical works by Condo at its Paris and Palo Alto galleries in 2027. He will also maintain a longstanding relationship with international gallery Spr\u00fcth Magers.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe UK put in place a slate of sanctions against Russia in March 2022, including a ban on exports of luxury goods such as luxury vehicles, high-end fashion and artworks worth over \u00a3250 ($335) to Russia, or for use in Russia. The country also put in place steep import tariffs on items like vodka, artwork and antiques. The government said the ban was meant to \u201cmake sure oligarchs and other members of the elite\u2026 are deprived of access to luxury goods,\u201d as NPR reported at the time.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat initiative came shortly after the UK announced sanctions on seven of Russia\u2019s wealthiest oligarchs, including some with significant art collections, such as Roman Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Hauser-Wirth-London.jpg?w=1024″] Swiss-based megagallery Hauser & Wirth was cleared on Thursday of charges of violating Russia sanctions by selling an artwork by George Condo to Alexander Popov, a person connected with Russia. Judge Tony Baumgardner dismissed the criminal charges, saying prosecutors had not proven that Popov was a Russian resident at the time of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-2037294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2037294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2037294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2037294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2037294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2037294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2037294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}