Van Gogh Reborn!

Chapter 227:

Sin and Punishment (3)

Meanwhile.

Maurice Sholmes, the lawyer in charge of the legal dispute of the Marso family, was also busy with the matter related to Damien Carter.

He collected, compiled, and analyzed all the information related to Damien Carter through the sources he had used as a licensed detective, the powerful support of the Marso family, and the intelligence data obtained by Arsen1

However, even he, who had dealt with numerous crimes as a lawyer and a detective, had a hard time figuring out what had happened between Damien Carter, the British Sotheby’s, and the Sachi Gallery.

Sholmes continued his thoughts while looking at the various photos he had pinned on the board.

Among them, the one he focused on was , which had made Damien Carter, who was almost unknown, a star overnight.

As Ko Hun and Chashi-hyun had done, some people at the time had questioned how he had obtained ten thousand sapphires.

The controversy was settled when it was revealed that Daemon, a foundation established by Jared Sachi, the founder of the Sachi Gallery, was sponsoring Damien Carter.

“So it turned out to be a fake…”

The reason why could be sold for a whopping 50 million pounds was the artistic value and the high-cost materials used.

Since ten thousand sapphires were used, it naturally formed a high price range.

Many people participated in the auction because of the strange aesthetic of harmony between the skull and the jewels, and the profound philosophy related to Damien Carter’s death.

After that, Damien Carter had released a few more works using sapphires.

“…”

Sholmes shook his head.

He kept open several possibilities and assumed that the sapphires were genuine.

There were two reasons to guess that the sapphires used in were genuine.

The first reason was that not only the auction house, but also several external experts participated in the appraisal of the authenticity of the work.

Especially, for ultra-high-priced items like , verification work was repeated for about a month before the transaction.

Even if Damien Carter and the British Sotheby’s had intervened, they could not buy off all the appraisers hired by the people who wanted to buy the work.

For it to be possible, Jay Jopling, the bidder, had to be an accomplice at the least.

But that seemed unlikely for the second reason.

The person who bought was Jay Jopling, Damien Carter’s sponsor, and he had no benefit from buying fake sapphires.

If Jay Jopling sponsored Damien for money laundering, and Damien bought sapphires with that money and made , Jay Jopling should not have bought it.

Since the money would go in twice, unless Damien Carter shared the profit in the middle, money laundering would not be established.

Also, whether it was speculation or for money laundering, he would have to dispose of someday, so if the sapphires were fake, Jay Jopling would have to take unnecessary risks.

Sholmes judged that Jay Jopling would not take such a risk.

“Hmm.”

He reached a dead end.

Sholmes lit a cigarette and imagined what had happened between Damien Carter, Jay Jopling, and the British Sotheby’s based on his hypothesis so far.

According to Damien Carter, about 600 carats of sapphires were used in .

If Jay Jopling gave Damien Carter the material cost, it would be about 200,000 pounds.

Damien Carter made with 200,000 pounds and registered it with the British Sotheby’s.

The British Sotheby’s heated up the auction and raised the price of to 50 million pounds and sold it to Jay Jopling, who paid 62.5 million pounds, including a 20% commission and a 5% value-added tax2

The amount Jay Jopling invested was estimated to be about 62.7 million pounds.

For this, Damien Carter had to pay a 5% commission of 2.5 million pounds to the British Sotheby’s and pay taxes on the remaining 47.5 million pounds.

British artists can deduct up to 80% of their art sales income as expenses, so if they assumed the maximum, they would have paid 3.8 million pounds in income tax at 40% on 9.5 million pounds.

That is, the money left to Damien Carter was 43.7 million pounds at the most when calculated at the maximum.

“Hoo.”

Sholmes exhaled a long puff of smoke.

Considering the UK’s capital gains tax, which taxes 40% on total capital gains over 35,000 pounds, Jay Jopling would have lost money unless he sold for at least 88 million pounds.

Even if there was a slight profit due to a calculation error, he, who had assets of hundreds of millions of pounds, would not have taken the risk for a few million pounds.

There was only one possibility.

Jay Jopling really believed that Damien Carter would become a famous artist and invested in him.

If so, there was no shady business that Henri Marso had suspected.

It no longer mattered whether the sapphires were genuine or fake.

Vroom- Vroom-

As soon as Sholmes lit his third cigarette, his smartphone vibrated.

It was Arsen.

Sholmes hastily answered the phone of his old enemy and reliable ally.

“Did you find out anything?”

-It was so absurd that I couldn’t speak.

Sholz could tell from Arsen’s tone that he had finally uncovered the secret.

“Spill it.”

-Don’t hang up the phone and open the file I uploaded.

Arsen laughed bitterly.

Sholz logged into the independent server used by the Marso family and opened the file that Arsen had left.

It was a photo of a small-scale garbage disposal plant.

“You became a garbage collector and now you want to brag about it?”

-This is no joke.

Sholz narrowed his eyes as he checked the photo.

The garbage was made of materials that were not typical of household waste, such as plaster, stone, marble, iron, leather, etc.

He couldn’t believe his eyes and repeated the verification several times before opening his mouth.

“This can’t be.”

At first, he couldn’t recognize them because they were broken into small pieces, but he could tell from some of the photos that they were the works of Demian Carter, who had recently announced them.

-They were the ones that didn’t sell at the auction.

“So you dispose of the ones that don’t sell?”

-I was curious where all those works that didn’t sell or exhibit had gone.

Arsen continued.

-They all came from here. Fake sapphires, rabbit fur, you name it. They must have disposed of them because they didn’t sell.

“Is it because of the rarity?”

-Maybe. They might have packaged them as hard-to-scam items by deliberately reducing the volume. But that’s not the problem. Open the last file.

Sholz opened the last file as Arsen requested.

It was a picture of , adorned with dark blue sapphires.

“Did you get into Jay Jopling’s house already?”

-No. It’s inside the building where the garbage comes out. It’s Demian Carter’s studio.

“…You have the stuff you sold?”

-Demian Carter and Jay Jopling must be in cahoots.

Sholz nodded.

He had already assumed that the two were in league, and that Arsen had found in Demian Carter’s studio was a solid proof.

“We can bust them for fraud.”

-That wasn’t the only thing. They did something interesting.

Sholz was puzzled.

-I need to talk to the author. I’ll be there tomorrow morning.

“You’ll get an earful for taking these pictures.”

Henry Marso, who forbade any illegal activities, would not let Arsen off the hook for sneaking into Carter’s studio and taking pictures.

-It wasn’t me who took them.

“Then who?”

-There was a journalist with a sense of justice.

Henry Marso frowned as he checked the evidence that Arsen had brought.

He felt nauseous at the contents of the undercover report by Kim Ji-woo, the journalist who got the information from Arsen.

“So you’re saying that Carter, Jopling, and Sotheby’s in England conspired and ripped off the sponsors?”

“Yes. Jay Jopling used his connections to gather sponsors and sold them Demian Carter’s works. Eternity was an investment to raise Demian Carter’s value.”

When Arsen finished his explanation, Sholz added.

“In the process, Sotheby’s in England lent them money and charged up to 300% interest. Jay Jopling split half of the profits with Sotheby’s and Demian Carter.”

Henry Marso pressed his temples to ease his headache.

“What does it mean that they took Eternity?”

“We couldn’t figure that out.”

“…What about the sapphires and the fur?”

“They were the leftovers from disposing of the unsold ones. They probably did that because they had no place to store them.”

Henry Marso was disappointed in Demian Carter again.

He couldn’t believe that he had crushed his own works just to maintain the price.

‘How can he call himself an artist. Carter.’

Henry Marso threw the documents and closed his eyes.

“Go on.”

Sholz took over.

“The fraud is vague, but the tax evasion is clear. They claimed 80% of their expenses as losses, but there were a lot of inflated parts. There were even costs that didn’t actually go in.”

"What did HMRC do until now?"3)

“They must have gotten something.”

Henry Marso bit his tongue at Sholz’s words.

“There’s something amazing about money laundering.”

“Is there more?”

Sholz nodded.

“Most of the buyers had paid through ghost corporations.”

Henri Marso was stunned to hear that the people who had bought the artworks from Damien Carter, Jay Jopling, and Sotheby’s in the UK had also used Carter’s group for money laundering.

“Don’t let any of them get away.”

Arsene and Sholmes nodded.

“Make them regret it for the rest of their lives.”

Henri Marso had no mercy for those who exploited the art world.

After Brexit.

London, the core of the art market, was making a fortune from art transactions.

Unlike the past, when they were tied to the European Union and exempt from taxes.

Now, they had to pay customs duties when they sold or bought artworks in the UK.

France, Germany, and other countries, as well as the artists and collectors from those countries, had to reluctantly bear the customs duties because of the strong dominance of the UK in the art auction market.

Artists could not like the UK art world, which bullied them with its overwhelming market.

“That’s the plan.”

Arsene and Sholmes had prepared to report the matter to France, Europe, as well as the UK, North America, Asia, and other regions.

As soon as Henri Marso gave the signal, they would file a complaint against the UK and the countries where the sponsors belonged.

The tax authorities of each country would be eager to catch them.

Everything depended on Henri Marso’s command.

“That picture. Did Kim Ji-woo take it?”

“Do you know him?”

Of course he did.

He was a reporter who had bothered him several times, but his article at the Arnuvo competition was one of the few reports that Henri Marso liked.

“Give me the exclusive story.”

“It has to make a big splash. You don’t have to worry about the compensation, I’ve paid you enough.”

“You went in and took it yourself, there must be a difference. Give me an hour at least.”

Sholmes nodded at Henri Marso’s words.

“I’ll do that.”

Arsene and Sholmes left the room.

Henri Marso, who had finished all the preparations, waited for the showdown with Damien Carter tomorrow.

He was determined to win by a landslide and crush him so that he would never rise again.

In 1983, France enacted the Law on Private Security and Business, which introduced the licensed detective system.

In Europe, auction houses adopted a system of charging buyers as well as sellers to prevent the sellers from being overburdened with fees.

Usually, they charge 20% to the buyers and 2-8% to the sellers (artists).

High-income earners who earn more than 100,000 pounds a year pay up to 40% income tax on all income that exceeds the limit.

Artists can deduct up to 80% of their expenses.

UK tax authority