Art Basel & UBS Come Under IRS & Senate Investigation
July 30, 2008
The IRS has asked the Swiss government to aid in the investigation of International Banking & Investment group UBS and their overseas tax havens programs which some have reported amount to intentional tax evasion and fraud.
Art Basel is mentioned as the go to location for foreign employees of UBS to illegally recruit wealthy individuals to help them avoid reporting billions of US dollars in assets. Clients were at times told to use code words when communicating with UBS. Testimony states that roughly 80 UBS bankers traveled to the US 4-6 times a year to pitch the bank’s secretive services to clients at upscale events as Miami’s annual Art Basel fair.
The bankers used encrypted computers, devised codes for their clients’ identities, told Customs agents the trips were for vacations, notbusiness, and advised clients to place jewelry, paintings and other assets in Swiss safe deposit boxes, Birkenfeld testified in June, when he pleaded guilty to helping California billionaire Igor Olenicoff evade $7.2 million in U.S. taxes.
Former LGT computer technician Heinrich Kieber helped tax investigators around the world flesh out those statistics by handing over data on approximately 1,400 of the bank’s clients.
Kieber is in hiding as Liechtenstein authorities seek him on charges of violating secrecy laws.
Episode 146: Art Basel
June 15, 2008
A Bad at Sports Basel Art Fair Overdose!
The intro and outro are extra creepy this week. Highlights(?) include Duncan talking about some fantasy involving wearing tight short shorts and Teena McClelland!!! Tom Burtonwood interrupts the recording by shooting rubber bands. Chaos!
After Richard and Duncan are done making a mess of things, the real pros come in and present a fantastic report from Basel.
Lamis El Farra, emerging artist, and the EuroShark Mark Staff Brandl, seemingly perennially emerging black sheep artist, traverse and discuss the entirety of the King of Art Fairs, Art Basel. Yes: the Fair Itself, Art Statements, Art Unlimited, Scope, and the Solo Project. They only missed Liste and Print Basel. Sorry, but all the rest was already enough. Of course they were at the VIP opening (ahem) and managed to talk to more people than you can shake a stick at: artists, gallerists, museum directors, curators, critics, art magazine editors, fair organizers, all the hangers-on, …er…, important elements of the international artworld.
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Episode 142:Three for one!
May 18, 2008
WTF? this weeks show is as long as your arm and brimming with what you need to
know about the art world around you…
It’s a three shows for the price of one deal!!!
First Duncan takes on the Chicago Artist Coalition to find out, what they do and
what business they have publishing a magazine.
Next,Terri and Serena talk to David Adjaye and Cydney Payton at The Museum of Contemporary Art: Denver
and figure out how you go about building a museum.
As if that was not enough, Mark Staff Brandl our European Chief checks in to remind us
how important it is to be a member of a community.
The show closes with a tribute to the Birthday of Joseph Mohan.
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Episode 126: Meszmer/Müller and Book Review
January 27, 2008
The Central European Bureau, “EuroShark” Mark Staff Brandl and his new partner Lamis El Farra interview Alex Meszmer of the art team Meszmer/Müller.
Meszmer discusses the exhibition they curated at Projektraum Exex titled “Deconstructing Eden – Fragments of a Perfect Life,” their transitory museum-in-progress called Zeitgarten, the Swiss professional artists’ organization Visarte, and the new group of highly active “alternative” art spaces in Switzerland united under the rubric “Off-Off.”
Terri and Joanna give their book review of Eeee Eee Eeeee by Tao Lin . The “shitty drawing of novels.”
Duncan rages about how F-ing angry he is at the Art Institute of Chicago, and in order to make up for it, rumor has it that he intends to increase his donation to them. If you work in development, please make a note of Duncan’s generosity and contact me at badatsports@gmail.com and I’ll pass along his phone number. He really wants to talk to you ASAP.
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