Tax evasion Zurich High Court fines art collector four million francs

The Zurich High Court has handed down its third judgment in the same case against art collector Urs E. Schwarzenbach. He was sentenced to a fine of four million Swiss francs for multiple counts of intentional tax evasion.

Schwarzenbach had evaded taxes several times when importing works of art. In 123 cases, he did not declare the import of works of art at all and in a further 27 cases he under-declared their value.

According to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG), the state thus lost import taxes amounting to around CHF 3.7 million. The ruling has already been appealed twice to the Federal Supreme Court and sent back to Zurich. The most recent decision is now legally binding. Schwarzenbach accepts the fine.

SDA