Five years ago, Philippe Maestracci, the grandson of a Jewish antiques dealer, sued the Nahmads, requesting the return of a Modigliani painting entitled l’Homme Assis. The painting, thought to be worth $25 million has been held in the Geneva Free Ports and the case was dropped when the Nahmad’s denied their ownership, telling the court that it belonged to the International Art Center (IAC). It has since transpired with the release of the Panama Papers, that the ICA is an offshore company belonging to the Nahmad family. David Nahmad has been the sole owner of the company since January 2014. Read more on The Art Newspaper.
Another important art-world revelation has been made with the reveal of the Panama Papers. The ‘sale of the century’, the 1997 auction of the Ganz collection, including the world’s most expensive painting, Picasso’s Femme d’Algers, is also implicated in the scandal. Read the full story on Guardian.
The founder of one of China’s largest auction houses, and the fourth largest auction house in the world China Guardian, Chen Dongsheng is implicated in the scandal. artnet news has more.
Conversely, it’s hard to find fault with the cheery new president of Canada, Justin Trudeau. Today he is charming the pants off the art world by announcing in his first budget an augmentation of $1.4 billion to go towards art and culture. This investment is aimed to promote Canadian creativity locally and abroad. Hyperallergic reports.
