Swiss Billionaire Suspected of Avoiding Taxes on $85m in Art

The Dolder Grand in Zurich has a large art collection that is now the subject of a Swiss investigation:

The owner of the establishment, Urs E. Schwarzenbach, the subject of an investigation by the Federal Customs Administration. According to preliminary information gathered, the billionaire collector and would put him in his hotel 45 works of art valued at about 75 million francs. And this without paying the 8% tax on the value added due to the Swiss state.

The famous gallery Gmurzynska based on Paradeplatz in Zurich, is also under investigation: officially, the paintings were imported by the gallery, which allows, according to the Customs Act, to temporarily escape taxes. Counsel for the parties concerned have not responded to our requests. As the investigation is ongoing, customs do not speak about the case.

Oliver Brand, chief of criminal cases to the Federal Customs Administration, says that “tax fraud in the field of art has increased sharply in recent years” in Switzerland.

The owner of the Dolder is suspected VAT fraud (Le Matin)