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- The Zurich District Court has convicted art collector Urs Schwarzenbach of tax evasion.
- The owner of the Zurich luxury hotel Dolder Grand must pay a fine of six million francs.
- The court communicated the sentence in writing. It is not final yet.
For the Zurich District Court, it has been shown that Urs Schwarzenbach illegally imported 75 works of art into Switzerland. As a result, the billionaire avoided millionaire taxes. Imports occurred between 2008 and 2013.
He acted “consciously and voluntarily”
The now 72-year-old brought the works of art to Switzerland through a special process. The so-called relocation procedure allows galleries not to declare merchandise at the border.
As the court writes in its judgment, Schwarzenbach imported the works of art “knowingly and voluntarily” using this trick to avoid import taxes. The billionaire worked with a Zurich gallery for this.
Legend:
The 72-year-old Schwarzenbach stayed out of court because of Corona.
Keystone
In addition to billionaire Schwarzenbach, the Zurich district court has also convicted the then managing director of the gallery. You have to pay a fine of one million francs. The court held that the gallery owner made the illegal importation of the works of art possible. He knew about the injustice, he says at the trial.
He acted “consciously and voluntarily”
A third defendant, a lawyer, had also supported the two perpetrators. The court found him guilty of complicity in tax evasion and fined him half a million francs. The verdict is not yet legally binding. The parties can challenge it in the Zurich High Court.
Legend:
The Hotel Dolder Grand in Zürichberg is known as luxury accommodation.
Keystone
It is not the first time that Schwarzenbach has faced the courts: in December he was already defeated in federal court. The judges confirmed that Schwarzenbach owes the customs directorate around 11 million francs in import taxes and 2.5 million francs in interest.
A raid on Schwarzenbach’s luxury hotel, Dolder Grand, also caused a stir in 2017: Armed customs agents seized around thirty works of art for which the owner is said to have paid no import tax.
