Switzerland: A Swiss court has fined billionaire financier Urs Schwarzenbach CHF4 million ($4 million) for failing to properly declare some 200 artworks imported into Switzerland.
Schwarzenbach, an art collector and owner of the five-star Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich, was found guilty by the Bülach district court in Zurich on Monday. He rejects the charges and plans to appeal.
The Swiss customs authorities had accused Schwarzenbach of either failing to declare the imported art works or of underestimating their value in tax declarations. This allowed him to avoid paying duties worth CHF10 million, the authorities claimed.
Schwarzenbach rejected the charges, stating that the art works had always been kept at Zurich Airport in a location which did not require any customs declarations.
The billionaire denies owning some 10,000 works of art valued at several hundred million Swiss francs.
