Battle of billionaires around sculpture reveals a mysterious technical market

Billionaire art collectors rarely broadcast their deals or dirty laundry in public places. But a battle between a pair of bold names on Giacometti sculptures is now operating in the open, climbing a rare light on a global market that includes unlicensed agents, hands shaking hands with millions of dollars and widespread confidentiality.

Chinese encryption pioneer Justin Sun and American entertainment director David Jeffen are accusing each other in the federal court in New York, each of them claims to be the legitimate owner of Alberto Gaoiti “Lez” (“Nose”). Along a path that extends from New York to Singapore to Paris and returning to the United States, Mr. Sun says that the statue was secretly sold by an unintended advisor and was prosecuted for his return from Mr. Jeffen, who recently returned, accused of Mr. Sun by creating a detailed scams because he regrets the sale.

In addition to tangles is an agent that may or not is responsible, and it may or not to be in a Chinese detention center.

At the 2021 auction in New York, Mr. Sun, who founded the Tron encryption platform in Singapore, paid $ 78.4 million for “Le Nez”, a work in the middle of the century of bronze, steel and iron depicting his head, hanging in an open cage and crushed for a very long time.

Mr. Jeffen, in turn, bought the sculpture last year while on loan to The Jiakometi Institute in Paris.

But in early this year, Mr. Sun is prosecutedOn the pretext that the advisor who sold her to Mr. Jeffen, for 10.5 million dollars and two donors, did not reveal this, he did this without his permission, as he submitted documents and invented a Chinese lawyer who was not present to conclude the deal. The accused counselor was publicly linked to Mr. Sun and his artistic purchase for years and talked about him Advice to him about his attempt to Giacometti And other pieces.

Last month, Mr. Jeffen filed a lawsuit against Mr. Sun, accusing him of fabricating the story of a “trick” for his adviser who sold illegal. In fact, he accused, that Mr. Sun had the “remorse” after trying to sell the paintings listed in the deal, but finding that they did not attend offers as he was hoping.

Mr. Sun’s Lawyer Silvo launched on Wednesday, and they told the court that Mr. Jeffen was “completely misleading” and the advisor, who says he has been detained in China since February “, should sue the recognized fraud and theft” – an independent independent allegation.

A lawyer for Mr. Sun, William Charon, said in an email that Mr. Jeffen’s allegations are “desperate and strange” and that he clings to “imagination” that the advisor is not a thief.

Art lawyers say that if there is a right to steal it is very important, but he will not necessarily decide the case. If the counselor transfer the sculpture without authority, Mr. Sun can be called the legal owner. Or, Mr. Jeffen can maintain sculpture if his dependence on its representation is reasonable.

He said, “I have been in the art world for decades and I saw a lot of umbrella deals Joshua KovmanA technical lawyer in Washington, DC, “The copy of both sides can be correct.”

There are many facts in the conflict and face the case of Mr. Sun “arduous battle”, Jana Farmer, art lawyer In New York.

The counter -claims and allegations fill hundreds of pages, and the gaps between the accounts of billionaires were vast. Mr. Sun says his advisor was independent committing a “elaborate trick.” Mr. Jeffen claims that Mr. Sun is trying to delete text messages and evidence on the Internet.

In practical terms, the only thing they agree is that the paintings circulated in the 2024 deal should not be defined publicly. Experts say secrecy is likely to avoid breaking the value of the paintings while fighting on sculpture.

Mr. Sun, 34, is not strange to the controversy, in the world of art and beyond. Make waves last year with 6.2 million dollars purchase From a conceptual piece consisting of bananas recorded on the wall, and he is proud of the traditional challenge Value concepts.

In 2023, The Securities and Stock Exchange Commission accused him of you Of the exaggeration of their encrypted price fraud. Mr. Sun criticized for spending $ 75 million in late last year Cracks associated with Donald Trump In what was seen as an attempt to influence the president to give up the case, which he denied. The case remained by a judge this year at the request of the government.

Mr. Jeffen, 82, is Main mosque Those who started buying art before the birth of Mr. Sun. The case against him by Mr. Sun is challenging the ownership of Mr. Jeffen to “Le NEZ” and “his great position” as a smart mosque. Mrs. Farmer said, “She tries to put his reputation at stake.”

She believed that billionaire colleges will eventually settle their unusual general conflict. If so, this may be just a brief glimpse of a mysterious work before the shadows are drawn again.