Yves Bouvier is a popular name, especially in the art market. This Swiss art dealer made a huge scandal in 2015 when he was accused of taking more commission over the artworks he sold on his clients’ behalf for his own benefits. One thing revealed in the case that becomes the hot topic of discussion is the free-ports that become his main business.
Freeports: What Are They Actually?
Yves Bouvier is not only well known for his work as an art dealer that hired by wealthy collectors. He is also famous particularly for his family business, Natural Le Coultre, that gives him a huge fortune. His family business mainly specializes in providing services for the museums, companies, and art collectors that need to transport and store their fine artworks and precious goods. Bouvier builds several freeports in Geneva and Singapore to accommodate his billionaire clients. The “artistic hubs” are the exclusive areas with maximum security and hidden from public views. The areas are also hidden from authorities so that Bouvier can avoid taxes. All the precious goods such as diamonds, work arts, and antiques are stored there with secrecy to make sure that the wealthy owners will enjoy maximum security, confidentiality, and free of tax. This is how the areas get their names, the “Free ports”. The number of wealthy clients that use the areas to store their precious belongings also keep increasing and Bouvier himself is then known as the “King of Free ports.”
Are They Really Areas of Lawless?
There are dozens of free ports can be found in the world in which six of them have specialization in storing art storage include Singapore, Geneva, Monaco, Shanghai, Luxembourg, and Beijing. However, among the free ports, this is the one in Geneva that handles more than 50% of art market global flow. The stored value of this free port even reaches 80 billion euros. The free ports are totally gray areas. Just mention all the possible suspicious activities in the art market and you can find them all in the free ports. Either it is trafficking and keeping stolen historical items, generalization and optimization tax evasion, or money laundry, everything can be done there. Behind the safe walls of the free ports, both the owners and the merchants could have a freedom to work with a complex arrangement of financial. This will make it possible for the two parties to hide from the customs administration and radar tax. Reports even say the Swiss authorities in Geneva have also found objects of Italia tombs that are believed taken from looting. The authorities even seized objects from two thousand years old- Egyptian mummies. The Swiss authorities have been trying to reveal the secret areas for several years without success.
Behind this fabulous free ports, Yves Bouvier is the leader in this industry. He is known to be the main shareholder of the free port in Geneva and the important player behind the portfolios in Luxembourg and Singapore. The later is the country where he resides now to avoid tax. It means that Bouvier is the real reign in the secret and exclusive world of culture and art. For more info just visit this source.
