The case

Urs E. Schwarzenbach, owner of Zurich’s Dolder Hotel, has been convicted of and been punished for several accounts of willful tax evasion.

Source: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, court decision SU230 058 of 21 August 2024, (German) legally binding

The commentary

The trial was an arduous path through all the instances and back: In May 2018 Bülach’s district court condemned Schwarzenbach to a fine amounting to CHF 4 m because of tax evasion – and it’s exactly these CHF 4 m that the hotel owner will have to pay according to a definitive ruling of the Zurich supreme court.

The original accusation was about 123 cases in which Schwarzenbach had failed to declare works of art and in 27 cases he had declared a lower value. All in all, it was claimed, CHF 3.721 m in import taxes had wrongly not been levied or not been paid. In June 2020 the supreme court had reduced the prior court’s  (i.e. district court of Bülach) fine of CHF 4 m to CHF 2.503 m. Schwarzenbach had been found guilty of having smuggled 122 undeclared art pieces into Switzerland.

All in all Swiss authorities involved had claimed CHF 300 m from Schwarzenbach who had been fighting a legal battle against Swiss authorities for over 10 years. Now all taxes have been paid.

This publication has been prepared solely for information purposes and is does not constitute a recommendation, a solicitation, or an offer. The information on which this publication is based has been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable and in good faith, but we have not independently verified such information and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to its accuracy. All expressions of opinion are made as of the date of publication and may be subject to change without notice. k-flash and all related affiliates accepts no liability or responsibility whatsoever for any consequential loss of any kind arising out of the use of this publication or any part of its contents. The use of this publication should not be regarded as a substitute for the exercise by the recipient of his or her own judgment. This publication is not directed to any person in any jurisdictions that prohibit such publication.