Wealthy French art dealer Guy Wildenstein and seven others were acquitted of tax fraud charges on Thursday thanks to a legal loophole the Paris court acknowledged might not be understood by the general public.

Four Wildenstein family members and four of their financiers and lawyers were accused of deliberately understating to tax authorities the real value of family riches inherited about a decade ago and placed in trusts abroad.

The trial concerned more than 500 million euros of various goods and Guy Wildenstein, 71, faced two years in jail and a fine of 250 million euros ($267 million) if convicted. The other faced various similar charges, including complicity in fraud.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The case did not produce a guilty verdict because France’s tax legislation at the time lacked clarity on the declaration of inheritance assets parked in financial trusts, the court said.

The law was amended in 2011 to close this loophole.

“The court is perfectly aware its verdict may run counter to public belief and be misunderstood,” judge Olivier Geron said.

He said it seemed clear there was an effort to hide assets, but the way it was done was not technically illegal at the time.

Prosecutors accused Wildenstein of deliberately failing to report the full extent of riches inherited from his father Daniel Wildenstein, who died in 2001, and after the death of a brother, Alec, a few years later.

Defense lawyer Herve Temime said the verdict was “perfectly logical” under the law at the time. “Judges can’t replace lawmakers,” he said.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount