The Art Newspaper sale dispute triggers new legal action

The corporate owner of The Art Newspaper said it has launched new legal action against the publication’s “malicious” former owner and her business partner, months after a Hong Kong court rejected the pair’s attempt to freeze shares tied to the sale of the outlet.

AMTD Group Inc., a multinational holding company that owns The Art Newspaper through its media subsidiaries, said in a news release last week that it has “commenced legal action” against Inna Bazhenova and Gleb Ibragimov.

It accused them of intimidation, malicious falsehood and breach of confidence after the 2023 sale of The Art Newspaper. The company said the dispute stems from alleged threats to disclose information about the deal to journalists unless AMTD agreed to revised terms.

AMTD did not disclose where the lawsuit had been filed. As of publication, no court filing corresponding to the newly announced litigation could be located in public records in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United States or France.

The announcement follows a court fight at Hong Kong’s High Court where Bazhenova and Ibragimov sought to freeze shares they received as part of the sale, according to a June 2025 decision obtained by Urgent Matter.

When The Art Newspaper was sold to AMTD in 2023, the purchase price was paid partly in cash and partly in company shares linked to AMTD. Those shares were held through a Hong Kong brokerage firm and could not be sold immediately. The shares were subject to lock-up restrictions that limited when and how they could be sold.

After the sale, a dispute arose over those shares. In late 2024, Inna Bazhenova and Gleb Ibragimov went to court in Hong Kong and asked a judge to issue an emergency order freezing the shares so they could not be moved or dealt with while the dispute continued.

Hong Kong’s High Court rejected that request, ruling that the situation did not justify emergency intervention and said that any financial harm could be addressed later through damages rather than by freezing the shares.

The court ordered Bazhenova and Ibragimov to pay HK$773,000 in legal costs related to the failed application, the documents show. AMTD said in its news release that the entire Hong Kong case was dismissed in November.

Following the dismissal of that case, Ibragimov allegedly sent messages in January indicating a readiness to disclose confidential information about the transaction to third parties, including journalists, unless the company agreed to resolve matters “in favor” of Bazhenova.

“The above conducts and actions have been reported to law enforcement authorities by AMTD and The Art Newspaper,” the firm said. “As a result of the above, AMTD Group has suffered loss and damage.”

In a separate case also announced last week, AMTD said it had launched legal action in Paris against Benjamin Eymere, a member of the Jalou family — a prominent French publishing dynasty — for alleged defamation and harassment.

Eymere is a former executive linked to L’Officiel, another fashion and culture title owned by the AMTD. That release similarly framed the dispute as necessary to protect the company’s reputation.

The luxury lifestyle news publisher Luxuo reported that the Jalou family claims it was never fully paid for the sale of L'Officiel or The Art Newspaper, and that portions of the funds it was owed remain frozen in AMTD-controlled accounts, among other allegations.

Disclosure: The author has contributed freelance work to The Art Newspaper.