Urs Schwarzenbach

Mrs Nicoll's father is Sir Martyn Arbib, former head of the Perpetual fund management company, who bought the estate as a wedding present for her in 1997 for £12 million.

[citation needed] Schwarzenbach's development of the Culham Court estate still continues with the extension of the existing 90-acre (36 ha) deer park with over 4 kilometres of wrought iron deer fencing, a mile long "London" drive through beech woodland to the main road, the 2010 £8 million acquisition of three cottages and the original walled gardens which will be reinstated to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for the main house, a new ha-ha, and a security system including a "hard" room.

[citation needed] The latest creation is a maze requiring the planting of 20,000 mature yew bushes; this part of the 20-year plan that has been devised for the gardens and grounds.

Another substantial riverside property on the outskirts of Henley-on-Thames and once owned in the nineteenth century by a Scottish banker, it was sold in controversial circumstances by the Congregation of Marian Fathers, a Polish religious community which had no further use for it.

[citation needed] In 2013/14, Schwarzenbach was investigated by the FCA (Federal Customs Administration) for alleged VAT fraud totalling some ten million Swiss francs and art trafficking.

Under Swiss law, owners of artworks do not have to pay import charges until works of art are formally brought into the country, i.e. they come out of storage and are officially transferred.

This action was simultaneous with a raid on nearby Galerie Gmurzynska on the suspicion of supplying the five-star Hotel Dolder with imported artworks valuing 75M Swiss Francs without paying duty.

Gmurzynska filed a complaint to prevent their inspection, but the Federal Court has ruled that in a criminal investigation of this kind where there is reasonable suspicion, the prosecuting FCA can demand to see papers it considers relevant to the case.

[20] In October 2016 the Swiss Customs Directorate finalised a compelling case that Schwarzenbach in effect had legally exported artefacts for a value of at least 130 million CHF and smuggled them back into Switzerland.

[23] In 2017, Swiss customs officials entered the hotel and seized around 30 paintings, worth approximately $50 million, in a dispute over Schwarzenbach's back taxes and VAT evasion.