AMTD's War for L'Officiel: IP Wins Clash with Bitter Family Feud

PARIS, France – January 28, 2026 – Global conglomerate AMTD Group, alongside its listed subsidiaries, today announced a series of successful legal actions to protect its ownership of the iconic fashion media brand L'Officiel. While the company celebrates victories against alleged trademark infringers across multiple jurisdictions, the announcement comes amid a deeply contentious and escalating battle with the magazine's founding Jalou family, who have triggered a criminal fraud investigation into AMTD in France.

In a detailed press release, AMTD Group, which acquired L'Officiel in 2022, portrayed itself as a vigilant guardian of its intellectual property. The company, which holds the L'Officiel brand trademarks in over 60 countries, is aggressively pursuing what it calls "infringers and scammers who seek to misuse and misappropriate our brands."

A Global Legal Offensive

AMTD's campaign to enforce its IP rights has been waged on a global scale. The company highlighted several key wins, including successful actions in Hong Kong against Luxury Village LLC and its director Dimitri Vorontsov over an illegitimate publication. It also pointed to favorable rulings from the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, which have resulted in the cancellation and transfer of 16 illegitimate domain names, such as <lofficiel.art> and <lofficiel.ai>, that were found to be registered in bad faith.

Most recently, the conglomerate noted that a legal challenge from Geomedia SA, a former licensee in Morocco, was declared "null and void" by a Paris court, with the entire proceedings quashed. AMTD is also pursuing separate action against Geomedia in Morocco for improper use of its intellectual property. The company stated its position unequivocally: "any illegitimate parties, with no legal entitlement or capacity, regardless of where in the world they have sought to take legal actions or complaints, will be destined to fail against ample facts and truth."

This aggressive legal strategy is central to AMTD's broader vision. As a self-described "super connector" ecosystem with entities listed in New York, London, and Singapore, the integrity and exclusivity of its brands—which also include The Art Newspaper—are paramount to its global growth ambitions.

The "White Knight" Narrative

At the heart of AMTD's public statements is a carefully constructed narrative casting the firm as the savior of a struggling legacy brand. The company asserts that it acquired 100% of L'Officiel from private investment group GEM Global Yield LLC SCS, which had become the lead controller. AMTD claims it stepped in as a "white knight" to rescue the fashion house from a dire financial situation.

According to AMTD, the previous management under the Jalou family had incurred "significant amounts of debt," which led a French court to implement a continuation plan to manage the liabilities. AMTD states it inherited this "legacy of debts" but has since made all required payments on time, all while preserving jobs and investing in the brand's growth without incurring any new debt.

AMTD's statement directly confronts what it calls "malicious falsehoods and defamatory conduct by the Jalou family," labeling any claims challenging its ownership or alleging wrongdoing as "entirely false and brought in bad faith." To that end, AMTD has filed its own criminal reports and is actively pursuing litigation against members of the Jalou family for defamation and malicious falsehood.

A Counter-Narrative of Fraud and Betrayal

The narrative of a clean rescue is fiercely contested by the Jalou family, who founded L'Officiel over a century ago. Their counter-allegations paint a starkly different picture—one of deception, asset stripping, and a hostile takeover designed to circumvent French law.

In a dramatic turn of events, French authorities have opened a criminal investigation into suspected large-scale fraud connected to AMTD's acquisition of L'Officiel. The probe was launched following a formal complaint by the Jalou family, who allege that AMTD's actions constitute trademark infringement, tax fraud, and misuse of corporate assets. They claim the acquisition violated a court-approved recovery plan that explicitly restricted the transfer of company assets and trademarks.

The family further alleges that the full purchase price for L'Officiel was never settled, with funds remaining frozen in AMTD-controlled accounts. In public statements, Marie-José Jalou, the brand's former editor-in-chief, has expressed profound opposition to the new ownership. "L'Officiel was the bible of fashion," she stated. "It cannot be treated as a speculative asset. I will never give up."

This counter-narrative suggests a deliberate strategy by AMTD to seize control of the valuable brand assets while sidestepping the financial obligations attached to the French parent company, leaving creditors in the lurch. The family's complaint points to the alleged unlawful registration of the L'Officiel trademark in dozens of countries via an offshore subsidiary as evidence of this asset-stripping scheme.

A War on Two Fronts: Legal and Reputational

The dispute has now evolved into a war on two fronts, fought in courtrooms and in the court of public opinion. While AMTD publicizes its IP victories against third-party infringers, it faces a potentially more damaging battle against the very family synonymous with the L'Officiel name. The ongoing French criminal investigation lends significant weight to the Jalou family's claims and poses a serious reputational risk to AMTD.

This complex legal entanglement adds another layer of scrutiny to the AMTD conglomerate, whose digital arm, AMTD Digital Inc., previously drew intense media attention for its stock's extreme volatility following its 2022 IPO. For a company building a global portfolio of premium media and cultural assets, maintaining a pristine reputation is critical.

With both sides digging in for a protracted legal and public relations battle, the struggle for L'Officiel is shaping up to be a defining test of AMTD's global ambitions and a dramatic, uncertain new chapter for the century-old fashion institution.