German socialite pleads guilty to fraudulent sale of Yayoi Kusama’s art piece

German socialite Angela Gulbenkian pleaded guilty to fraudulent sale of one of Yayoi Kusama’s iconic Yellow Pumpkin sculptures. Art Incorporated Ltd. owned by Mathieu Ticolat in 2017 paid Gulbenkian $1.38 million for the sculpture, but never received the piece. Gulbenkian is expected to be sentenced on 28 July.

After Ticolat transferred the fund for the sculpture, Gulbenkian came up with reasons as to why the art piece was not yet shipped. Ticolat did not realise that it was a scam until Artseen, a Singapore-based company, reached out to him. The company told him that it agreed to sell the sculpture via Gulbenkian, but never received the money.

Gulbenkian, who married into a prominent European art collecting family, in 2018 finally signed a stipulation of settlement where she admitted that she owed the money she stole from Ticolat. However, she defaulted and failed to show up for court hearing. A British court in 2019 issued a warrant for Gulbenkian's arrest and in June 2020 arrested and extradited her to London where she faced two more charges.

A London-based art dealer purchased a print of Queen Elizabeth II by Andy Warhol from Gulbenkian. However, he found out that the art piece he paid for $160,000 was not Gulbenkian’s to sell. Another accusation is from her massage therapist Jacqui Ball. Gulbenkian stole nearly $70,000 of the money Ball entrusted to invest on her behalf.