Guy Wildenstein also told the Paris court he didn’t know why $188 million’s worth of paintings were moved to Switzerland from the U.S. while his father was dying. The only thing Guy said he knew was that Daniel had decided to reorganize the Delta Trust in July. Because of the complexity of moving art, items were still being shipped when he died.
The Royal Bank of Canada unit in the Bahamas didn’t learn of the shipments until more than a decade later, and informed the U.S. Internal Revenue Service soon after. In total, the U.S. authorities were deprived of $136 million in estate tax due to the movements of the paintings, according to the indictment.
Guy Wildenstein hinted at one possible reason for his ignorance about Daniel’s business affairs.
“My father was a man of few words,” Guy told the court, adding that while he was head of the household, everyone else was treated like a child. “That’s how things are in the family.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.