The son of late Palestinian businessman Uthman Khatib died in July and is suing investors who are funding their lawsuit against Israeli Russian Mozes Frisch, allegedly allegedly stole 135 times of Russian avant-garde paintings.
Among them, the works are paintings attributed to El Lizzitsky, Kazimir Malevich and Wassily Kandinsky. Khatib’s son Prince Castro Ben Leon argued that their value was $323 million.
He claimed that the works were stolen by Frisch in 2019. In January, Paris Court obtained paintings seized from artanalysis by art validators in Paris last March. Artanalsy has always held works for Frisch.
Prague-based litigation funder Litfin Capital is supporting Khatibs’ case. However, Litfin is reportedly refusing to pay legal bills now unless it controls the lawsuit. As a result, Castro accused the company of violating their funding agreement in front of German arbitrators in Frankfurt, Germany. Bloomberg “A person who is familiar with this matter.”
“Funders always try to spend as little as possible and make as much profit as possible, but they usually stay within the scope of ethics and law,” said Heiko Heppner, a partner at the law firm hired by Castro, Denton, UK. “It’s obvious that Litfin is crossing these borders.”
These 135 paintings are part of a heavyweight Russian modernist allegedly part of a collection of 1,778 works. Castro is suing Frisch in Germany for returning stolen works or $323 million (hundreds of paintings from 1,778 work collections in Frankfurt in 2023). Meanwhile, Artanalysis owner Laurette Thomas, as well as Frisch and Art Collector Olivia Amar, are suing Khatib for returning the work held in Paris and paying an additional $30.5 million in damages (plus attorney fees).
Litfin launched in 2018 without reply Artnewsbut the company’s CEO Maros Kravec told Bloomberg It will not comment on the ongoing program publicly. “We always use all available legal means to strongly defend ourselves against all baseless, misleading and agenda-driven allegations,” he said.
According to Castro, Letterfen began funding Hatibus’ lawsuit from the end of 2023 and agreed to pay nearly $10 million. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will reportedly pay after returning the painting to Castro and selling it.
According to its website, Litfin specializes in antitrust cases, bankruptcy, arbitration. Kravik said it manages a portfolio worth $5.8 billion in claims value, which is more than 25 major international disputes.
Khatibs and Litfin previously enjoyed good relations, and the former praised the company after former French authorities seized 135 paintings last year. “With the help of Denton and Litfin, we will follow perpetrators around the world,” the family wrote in a press release at the time. “We will continue to restore our property and encourage anyone considering purchasing works from Russian avant-garde to work hard to check its source and make sure it is not a stolen work that belongs to our family.”
Castro said Lidin refused to pay further legal fees by the end of 2024, until then, Hatibus’s claim cost $4.3 million. He said he was in control of the case after his father died.
Most importantly, Castro also claimed that Litfin asked him and his father to remove him from the claim, and the company said it wanted to work directly with Denton. He said Litfin agreed to pay $2.3 million in unpaid fees to the law firm only if the new conditions are met.
Hatibus’s lawyer Hepna told Bloomberg Litfin CEO Kravec was willing to present an excellent invoice to Dentons, asking Heppner to withdraw the case against Frisch. “It is unspeakable to ask a lawyer to betray his client,” Hepner said.[Kravec] Very intentional in controlling the lawsuit. ”
According to Khatib, a lawsuit filed in Germany in February. Bloombergbefore his death in July. The arbitration lawsuit against Frisch and Litfin was put on hold while Khatib’s property was settled.
in May, Artnews The report said that as part of Khatibs’ legal battle to reclaim 135 paintings, Dentons hired the UK Doerr Dallas to evaluate the works for insurance purposes. Doerr Dallas is valued at $208 million. Rachel Doerr, founder and managing director of the company, told Artnews On the phone, although she won’t discuss the warning.
