Mogul Pignataro in Loan Repayment Spat With Ex-Business Partner

(Bloomberg) — Italian fintech tycoon Andrea Pignataro is embroiled in a dispute with a former business partner over an unpaid debt and millions of euros of antique watches, according to a London lawsuit.

The case stems from the missed repayment of a €9 million ($9.4 million) loan made by ION Trading Ltd., one of the companies controlled by Pignataro, to Nanni Bassani Antivari, an Italian investor and son of Luca Bassani Antivari, the founder of a luxury yacht company.

Pignataro said that he personally paid the loan to his company after the default, but he’s now seeking to recoup the money alleging that Bassani reneged on a promise to give him a collection of precious watches, worth €14.4 million to settle the debt, according to court documents.

Some were collectible items from Geneva luxury watch manufacturer Patek Philippe SA, his lawyer said at a recent London court hearing. Two of the timepieces are models made in the 1940s, of which there are less than a few hundred. While two others were valued at more than €1 million each, the lawyer said without identifying the model.

Patek Philippe watches are coveted by collectors and are a cornerstone of the secondary market for vintage timepieces. Rare examples of Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronographs such as the 1518 model, regularly change hands or are sold at auction for prices well in excess of $500,000 with the most sought after selling well into the millions.

In a November court order stamped at London’s High Court, Bassani was ordered to “deliver up the relevant watches” to Pignataro.

“Mr Bassani has, putting it colloquially, “done a runner”,” Pignataro’s lawyers said in court filings.

Bassani was represented by i-Law Ltd until at least October 2024 — since then he hasn’t instructed new solicitors, Pignataro’s lawyers said in court documents. Bassani did not attend the November hearing and his former representation declined to comment.

Pignataro is one of Italy’s richest men, having built a sprawling fintech and financial services empire over the last 25 years.

Bassani held redeemable shares in Fermion Investment Ltd., an Irish company which holds ION’s investments in Italy, as of the end in 2022, but was removed from the list of shareholders the following year, according to Irish corporate register documents. Bassani had failed to pay for those shares, according to a person familiar with the matter.

A spokesperson for Pignataro declined to comment. Bassani didn’t return several calls and messages seeking comment.

–With assistance from Jonathan Browning and Andy Hoffman.

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