The Lost Forest
Page 9
Chapter 9
A ZURICH BANK
Forbes was an old client of John Ennis, they had become good friends over the years with Ennis often staying at his White Plains home just outside of New York when he visited the East Coast. Forbes was an obsessive art and antiques collector always interested in any new discoveries. He had little need to earn money, he had enough of that, his main occupation in life was to conserve his income from a family trust that accumulated profits from unexciting but reliable shares in several coal mines in the Appalachians. His personal business activities were a mere pastime, giving him the feeling of being needed whilst generating receipts for the taxman.
His Swiss companies had provided him with the means of a tax write-off in the USA and the possibility to siphon off some of his excess funds for the acquirement of new objects for his large collection of art works, which included amongst other things, porcelain and other pieces often illegally smuggled out of China. Ennis figured that the unlawful aspect gave Forbes some kind of kick and a feeling of doing something real in his cosseted life and as a consequence he had few qualms about discretely helping him to sort the good from the bad knowing the corrupt side of the commerce of China’s antiquities.
To finance the undersea exploration and excavation of the Tanjong Lumut wreck in Brunei Ennis had spoken with Jim Forbes who liked the idea and suggested that one of his many semi-dormant Swiss companies called Archaeological Research and Exploration Inc., be used. Ennis liked the name, it even sounded serious and even respectable, in fact it was nothing more than another of his many letter box companies, in the Canton of Aargau, incorporated by Forbes’ lawyers in Zofingen for tax breaks and a virtual transit base for new objects destined for his art collection. The company had been dormant for at least three years, though it had existed for a much longer period of time with Forbes accountants and lawyers making all the legally required annual declarations to the Swiss authorities, in addition there was also a bank account in Zurich at the Bank Affenfeld.
Ennis had his lawyers prepare an agreement between Asia Galerie SA and Archaeological Research and Exploration Inc. in which they formed a consortium for the purposes of exploring, excavating and disposing of all items recovered from the Brunei wreck. It was named Brunei Undersea Archaeological Development. Asia Galerie was nominated as the leader of a consortium, which was open to two other members, the National Museum of Brunei and South China Sea Exploration Sdn Bhd., a Malaysian undersea exploration and excavation company.
The deal was that the consortium act as the contractual party, holding the undersea archaeological exploration licence, issued by the Brunei authorities, in addition the consortium could legally negotiate the sale and exportation of all objects with the approval of the National Museum, whenever the museum declined exercising its rights, allowing the finder to dispose of the treasure against payment of a negotiated royalty. The museum’s own collection had reached saturation and was unable to house what had already been found at other sites in Brunian territorial waters.
They met at the Bank Affenfeld that lay just off Bahnhof Strasse, in Zurich, on the hallowed ground of that most discrete sector of the Swiss Financial world, in the bank’s wood panelled and staidly furnished boardroom on the first floor.
Walter Hoffman was not the image of a typical Swiss banker in fact he was quite the opposite of the popular conception of a banker, he was a jovial grandfather like figure, rather disorganised, full of good humour and fluster.
It was one of those concrete-grey dusty days that is typical of Switzerland in wintertime, the opposite to the postcard image of clear air and snow covered mountains. Ennis had hired a Mercedes at Basel airport and had driven up to Zurich, the direct Zurich flight had been full and he had time for the one-hour drive, which he enjoyed in spite of the winter landscape that gave the impression of a strange dead world deserted by nature.
He parked the car at a meter just a couple of blocks off Bahnhof Strasse and strolled up to the bank, looking at the displays in shop windows with their stock of gleaming expensive jewellery and solid gold watches.
At the bank he was ushered up to the first floor and into Walter’s office, Jim Forbes was already sitting there dressed in an old and more than well worn grey tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows, still wearing his scraggy beard, drawing heavily on a long American cigarette.
Who would have thought that eccentric man was one of the richest in New England, old money, not one of those nouveau rich whose fortune had been made on the stock market before the collapse of the junk bond dream or in one of those volatile hi-tech industries?
‘Well hi there John, how are you doing?’ he said smiling and stretching out his hand, he was well over six feet tall and stooped slightly like many tall men.
‘Hallo Mr Ennis,’ said Walt, as he was called by Forbes, ‘sit down here,’ he pulled back a chair ‘we haven’t started yet.’
‘Would you like some coffee?’
‘Miss Wechsler where is the Research and Exploration file please?’ He shuffled his papers that were already spread out on the boardroom table
‘Oh yes and some fresh coffee please.’
‘So let’s down to business, I understand John needs to arrange a guaranty for the Brunei Government…that’s not too difficult, just a few signatures.’
‘Yes that’s right Walt.’
‘Well Jim the second thing is to arrange a letter of credit to charter um…a barge?” Ennis nodded. “…and diving equipment in favour of a Malaysian company called…South China Sea Exploration Sdn Bhd.?’
‘That’s right,’ said Jim. ‘John, did you bring all of the papers with you?’
‘Sure here they are,’ said Ennis handing over the documents to Forbes, they included a proforma invoices that could be used to draw up a letter of credit, negotiable on confirmation of the charter documents in Kuala Lumpur.
‘What about South China Sea Exploration when will they have the equipment ready on time John?’
‘They can set things in motion once the letter of credit has been opened.’
‘They must need the business.’”
‘No…actually Robert Guigulion, the owner of the company, is a Frenchman, has worked in the region for years and is one of the leading specialists in the field, in fact we’re lucky to get him.’
‘And your man in Brunei?’
‘His men are ready, that’s no problem.’
‘So you can look after everything from here Walt?’
Hoffman nodded and reached out to Ennis for the papers and looking through them quickly nodded in agreement.
‘Tomorrow the letter of credit should be opened,” Hoffman said, “and with the time difference they will have notification tomorrow morning and can confirm to the arrangement to Dato Rahman.’
‘Great it looks if things are finally moving!’ said Jim. ‘Well let’s get lunch now if everything is in order.’
‘Sorry I can’t join you,’ said Walter arranging the papers and handing them over to Miss Wechsler, ‘another time I have a lot of work, and I must get all of this off if we are going to earn our living.’
Walter, also a director of Archaeological Research and Exploration Inc., was keen to get the business rolling, Forbes was a good client of the bank’s but Walter had spent a lot of his personal time on Forbes projects, without a great deal in return up to then.
Ennis left with Jim Forbes, they took the car and drove over to the Butterfly, not a particularly comfortable hotel by Zurich standards, but Jim considered it discrete and he was fixed in his habits, not to speak of the stinginess that plagued old money.
After lunch Ennis had planned a meeting with a certain Jimmy Fogg to settle another business. He left Forbes taking a taxi to the Central Bahnhof, it was not far and the driver could not hide his annoyance, with the foreigner, perhaps he had hoped for a fare to Kloten Airport and not the Bahnhof, confirming Ennis’s opinion that the typical Zurich taxi driver appeared be an irritable over-sixty
.
From the taxi Ennis looked across the river to the park where it had been said that the best fix could be obtained in Zurich. In the chilly afternoon sun couples and groups of various types of punks, skins, hippies and other assorted drop outs could be seen huddled under the gaunt leafless trees trees, watching the mid-afternoon traffic crawl past, probably waiting for their next fix.
Once at the Central Bahnhof he found Jimmy looking a little lost, standing outside of the left luggage office in the basement level of the station. It was still early and they decided to take a walk and have a beer in one of the bars by the river. They made their way out of the station sliding between the construction works that seem to have surrounded the station for the last fifteen years.
The traffic was dense and slow moving and in spite of compulsory catalysers Zurich seemed to be just as polluted as London or Paris. They crossed the bridge and strolled along the northern bank of the river until reaching the head of the lake and then crossed back to the south side where they stopped in a biergarten overlooking the river.
It was a little worn as Switzerland seemed to have become over the years, with the smooth Italian waiters who had moved up in society being replaced by Yugoslavs and other less refined economic immigrants from Eastern European.
They were served by an untidy waitress in her early thirties with strong Slavic features, bad teeth and a fatalistic uncared for look. She had momentarily left her male companion, another economic immigrant, where she had been seated at a side table engaged in a smoking match.
They ordered two ‘hell bier’ and relaxed to watch Zurich life through the biergarten window struggling in a traffic snarl on the bridge, a mixture of trams, cars and two wheelers. Jimmy who never felt at ease surrounded by people speaking foreign languages seemed to be happier now that he had found a friend. It was a good end to his trip that had turned out successful, everything had been tied up and he could look forward to being home a little earlier than expected.
‘Listen Jimmy I want you to do something for me,” Ennis said, “very discretely.’
‘I’m all ears,’ Jimmy replied perking up.
‘Some friends of mine have lost something and they need it back.’
‘You know I’m into anything funny,’ he said looking at Ennis with a disappointed expression.
‘No, of course not Jimmy, it’s nothing to do with you, I need you to do me this favour.’
Jimmy was an Eastender and a well known London antique dealer…reputed for his links to the shadier side of the business.
‘Okay then, I’m listening,’ he said his ruffled feathers settling down.
‘It’s a skull…’
‘A skull, I hope the poor bastard wasn’t murdered!’
‘No, it’s a very old skull that was illegally exported from Indonesia a few years ago. They want it back and there’s rumours that it’s resurfaced again.’
‘Okay, give me the details and I’ll see what I can do.’
A couple of hours later they were at Kloten Airport, where Swiss efficiency still seemed to be present, and quickly checked-in. In the departure lounge Ennis idly watched from his seat in the bar as the Jimmy made the ritual purchase of duty frees. It was not as if he was short of money but he told Ennis that only in Zurich could such good cigars be found.
The airport was not busy, it was the nearing the end of the holiday season and was still another couple of weeks before the business rush started. The odd assorted group of Japanese or British bankers exchanged their usual stories with fellow travellers, boasting of everlasting lunches and dinners with the top people.
Ennis boarded the Swissair flight and took his seat in business class. He was pleasing to see it was more than half empty and he settled back to a smooth flight and a light meal as the plane headed over Basel towards Paris in clear weather.