On Tuesday afternoon, the Schwarzenbach Family Office announced that Urs E. Schwarzenbach had settled all outstanding matters with the Zurich tax authorities and had paid the owed amounts.

The unusually terse press release prompted finews.ch to follow up with the Family Office to learn more about the agreement. The questions posed were as follows:

1. To which specific proceedings does this agreement refer?
2. How large are the outstanding amounts that have now been settled?
3. Is this formally a settlement, or has Mr. Schwarzenbach admitted guilt?
4. Who bears the costs of the ongoing proceedings up to this point?

The Family Office’s responses arrived on Wednesday morning. Regarding the first question, they stated that the press release referred to all tax proceedings related to direct taxes. Likewise, the outstanding amounts with the customs authority had been paid.

No Information on Details

For questions 2 to 4, there were no substantive answers, only explanations: «As two of your questions pertain to details of the communicated tax matters (the formality question and the question regarding the cost bearer of the proceedings), we cannot provide any further information. We also cannot comment further on the amounts in question.»

Moreover, on behalf of the Schwarzenbach family, they asked for understanding that matters concerning personal taxes fall under privacy. The Tuesday release was merely sent out «to conclude past media articles and unresolved topics.»

«Absurd Accusations»

Schwarzenbach had been in conflict with customs authorities and tax offices for over ten years, exhausting legal remedies and all instances. The dispute reached its media peak when the customs authority, in front of astonished hotel guests, took down and seized paintings from Schwarzenbach’s Dolder Grand – making the story, at least partially, a public matter.

Schwarzenbach himself did not always avoid the spotlight during the dispute. In a 2017 interview with finews.ch, he explained how he found his way to art, emphasizing that he was an art collector, not a dealer. He also described the accusations and demands of the Zurich tax authorities as «absurd.»

Now a discreet conclusion has been drawn to an affair that stirred much dust over the years and provided material for numerous media reports. The «settlement» is likely to have been costly for the art lover, as his total tax debt was estimated to exceed 300 million Swiss francs.