UK court dismisses Russia sanctions case against Hauser & Wirth over Condo sale

LONDON, July 9, 2026 — Southwark Crown Court dismissed Russia sanctions charges against Hauser & Wirth Gallery Ltd and Artay Rauchwerger Solomons Ltd over the sale and shipment of George Condo’s “Escape from Humanity,” quashing both counts on the indictment. Judge Baumgartner said the prosecution had not produced sufficient evidence for a properly directed jury to conclude that buyer Alexander Popov was “ordinarily resident” in Russia at the relevant time, which was an essential element of the alleged offence.

The judgment said prosecutors alleged Hauser & Wirth sold the work to Popov, described in the case as a person said to be connected with Russia, and that the logistics company helped move it in 2022. The court said the sale had been agreed in July 2021, before the UK’s luxury goods restrictions took effect on April 14, 2022, and that Border Force seized the consignment in September 2022 before it left Britain.

In dismissing the case, the judge said the evidence showed Popov retained substantial links to Russia, including citizenship, business interests, property and family ties, but that was not enough to prove “ordinary residence.” The court pointed instead to documentary evidence that he had rented out his Moscow residence, secured residential arrangements in Armenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, sought residence rights and citizenship abroad, and tried to renounce Russian citizenship.

The ruling matters because the UK’s Russia trade sanctions prohibit making luxury goods available to a person connected with Russia, and the government has said the luxury goods ban covers works of art among other high-end items. The prohibition was added in the 2022 amendment to the Russia sanctions regulations as part of London’s broader response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The case had drawn attention in the art market as a test of how aggressively British authorities would enforce Russia-related trade sanctions against galleries and shippers. Trade publication reporting when the charges were brought said HMRC had opened the investigation and that Hauser & Wirth denied wrongdoing. More broadly, the UK has been tightening sanctions enforcement, while official guidance for high-value dealers and art market participants stresses the need for sanctions due diligence.