Judge orders Nazi-looted Modigliani linked to Panama Papers be returned to heirs

New York Supreme Court judge Joel M. Cohen ordered the return of Amedeo Modigliani's 1918 painting, *Seated Man with a Cane*, to the estate of Oscar Stettiner. The ruling concludes an 11-year court battle and mandates the painting's return more than 80 years after its confiscation by Nazis during the German occupation of France. Judge Cohen rejected arguments from Lebanese-born art dealer David Nahmad and his company, International Art Center, S.A., which purchased the painting in 1996. Secret records from the Panama Papers investigation revealed that International Art Center, S.A., registered in Panama, had been controlled by the Nahmad family for over 20 years. This decision ensures the painting, once hidden in a Swiss freeport, will be returned to Stettiner's heirs.