French authorities are pursuing hundreds of millions in back taxes amid claims the family fortune was hidden in offshore tax havens.
Family trusts based in locations such as the Bahamas, Guernsey or the Cayman Islands, are reported to own paintings valued at more than £850m.
The case is based on accusations that Wildenstein and his nephew Alec undervalued the family fortune in tax returns for the family estate filed in 2002 and 2008 after Guy's father, Daniel Wildenstein died in Paris in 2001.
According to Associated Press in Paris, Wildenstein, 70, a friend of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the recipient of the Legion d’Honneur, could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the criminal charges in one of the biggest tax fraud trials ever held in France.
Renowned art dealer Daniel Wildenstein was known to have owned numerous paintings by the likes of Monet, Renoir, Caravaggio, Picasso, Velazquez, and Rembrandt.
Lawyers for Guy Wildenstein said he denied “any form of guilt and will account for his actions before the court”.
