German court orders art dealer to pay 19 mn euros in damages to heir of Aldi Nord supermarket empire

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German court orders art dealer to pay 19 mn euros in damages to heir of Aldi Nord supermarket empire
Babette Albrecht, the widow of Berthold Albrecht, arrives at the regional courthouse in Essen, western Germany, on January 19, 2015 for the trial of Helge Achenbach, a German art consultant, for multi-million-euro fraud of one of the country's richest family. Achenbach was found guilty on January 20, 2015 for adding spurious charges to the sale of artworks and cars to the late Berthold Albrecht, heir to the Aldi Nord supermarket empire, the court said. AFP PHOTO / DPA / INA FASSBENDER.



BERLIN (AFP).- A German court Tuesday ordered an art dealer to pay more than 19 million euros ($22 million) in damages to one of the country's richest families over the sales of paintings and vintage cars.

Helge Achenbach, 62, had added spurious charges during the sale to the late Berthold Albrecht, heir to the Aldi Nord supermarket empire, the court in the western city of Duesseldorf said.

Albrecht paid around 97 million euros in total for 21 artworks and 11 vintage cars -- some 19.3 million euros too much, the court found in its ruling on a civil claim.

Spiegel Online reported in December that the art consultant's contested deals included paintings by Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein and Gerhard Richter, while the vintage cars were Ferraris, Bentleys and Jaguars.

The two men had agreed on a five-percent commission for the purchase of paintings and sculptures and three percent of the net purchase price for vintage cars, the court heard.

But in billing Albrecht, Achenbach calculated the commission at his own discretion, which was unjustified because he did not inform the Aldi heir, the court found.

The judges said that no "economically insightful" person or business personality such as Albrecht would have "engaged in such completely opaque pricing".

A criminal case against Achenbach for fraud is also currently underway in a court in Essen. He denies the charges.

Albrecht, who died in 2012, was the son of Theo Albrecht, founder of the Aldi group.




© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse










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