Artelligence for July 12, 2018

That Second Russian Billionaire Lawsuit Is Indeed Scherbakov: The Art Newspaper is reporting that the lawsuit revealed by the Tribune de Genève, republished by Artnet and commented upon by the Financial Times‘s art market writer was filed by Vladimir Scherbackov. But, according to The Art Newspaper, Scherbakov had a contract with the dealer to pay only advisory fees which the dealer says were €38m on €700m in art

• “The art dealer is Thierry Hobaica, who worked with the late dealer Jan Krugier, our sources say.” …

Adam Sheffer to Join Pace Gallery: Adam Sheffer announced earlier this week that he will be joining Pace Gallery next month. In his comments to the New York Times, Sheffer suggests his move is following Marc Glimcher’s prospecting for new tech money:

• “He’s the only dealer who’s been able to understand and interpret what’s happening in Silicon Valley, for instance. It’s not just about global domination, it’s about being a visionary.”

Sheffer’s former gallery, Cheim & Read, announced a change of focus a few weeks ago. That led the Times to speculate Sheffer’s departure caused Cheim & Read to rethink how it did business. …

Singapore Disputes Hong Kong’s Account of Jho Low Red Notice: Further fueling the impression that Jho Low is being protected by the Chinese government, Singapore’s authorities responded to a query from Bloomberg News about Low’s ability to leave Hong Kong for Macau without being apprehended:

• The request for assistance to provisionally arrest Low — a central figure in a global multi-billion dollar probe related to Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB — was sent to the Hong Kong Department of Justice in April 2016, a representative for Singapore’s police said Wednesday in response to Bloomberg News queries.

In other words, Singapore is saying HK authorities looked the other way while Low left instead of their claim that no arrest notice was issued. Although Low has now left Macau, he has previously claimed he would cooperate with Malaysia’s investigation by having his lawyers provide information:

• Low said in June that he would help in the probe and instructed his lawyers to make contact with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission after he was made aware they were seeking him for assistance. He has previously denied wrongdoing. Malaysia has said it has enough evidence on Low’s crimes.