Investigation Sought into UBS’s Ties to Nazi Regime

There’s an ongoing call for the Trump administration to look into Swiss bank UBS for purportedly hindering Congressional efforts to examine its connections to the Nazi regime, particularly regarding accounts that took Jewish property and assisted SS officers in escaping to Argentina after World War II.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reached out to State Department officials dedicated to combating anti-Semitism in a letter last Tuesday. He described UBS’s actions as a “historic disgrace” and sought assistance in his inquiry regarding the bank’s alleged interference.

During his communication with Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaprun, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee remarked, “As my investigation advances, insights into further measures your office plans to take for protecting the Jewish community from financial and art theft would be valuable.”

Grassley’s letter, dated May 19, also included statements from notable figures like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. In March, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency mandated UBS to obtain a national charter amid the investigation into Nazi-associated accounts. However, Treasury officials indicated to the Post that they had been informed of UBS’s lack of involvement in the bipartisan inquiry led by Grassley.

The letter also highlighted that the regulations governing UBS’s bank formation bring “enhanced responsibilities,” noting that the current situation is especially disappointing, considering the bank’s previously cooperative stance during the investigation.

“I have been overseeing a bipartisan investigation since April 2023 into unresolved matters regarding Swiss banks, mainly Credit Suisse—which UBS took over—and Nazi-related accounts, along with the associated theft of funds and art,” Grassley stated to Kaprun.

He expressed that the investigations from the 1990s did not achieve full justice for Holocaust victims and the Jewish community.

Grassley’s letter cautioned, “Unless there is a change in UBS’s behavior, the bank will continue profiting from American taxpayers while disrespecting Congress, the American public, and the legacy of Holocaust victims.”

In 1999, Credit Suisse settled for $1.25 billion with Holocaust survivors over the forced transfer of Jewish assets to accounts linked to the Nazi regime. Yet, subsequent investigations found that the extent of the bank’s ties to Adolf Hitler’s regime remained opaque.

In 2020, the Simon Wiesenthal Center uncovered connections between 12,000 Nazis who escaped to Argentina and accounts at Credit Suisse’s predecessor. The following year, the bank commissioned an independent investigator to probe Nazi-related accounts. Meanwhile, in 2023, UBS finalized its acquisition of Credit Suisse for $3 billion while investigations continued.

Independent monitor Neil Barofsky disclosed his findings in February, which included 890 accounts possibly tied to Hitler’s war efforts. However, in an April testimony to a Senate committee, he revealed that around 23,000 pages of documents related to the Third Reich’s financial activities were still being concealed by UBS. In a later correspondence to Grassley, he mentioned there were actually 27,400 missing pages.

Barofsky noted, “To date, UBS hasn’t provided my team with the necessary logs identifying the causes for these omissions. There’s been no commitment on when we might see these logs.”

He further alleged that UBS made “false and misleading statements” regarding 127 accounts that had been identified as containing Jewish assets forcibly moved from Credit Suisse to Nazi Germany clients.

Additionally, Barofsky claimed his investigative team was hindered from following “credible leads” connecting Swiss banks to the SS and the network that facilitated Nazi escapes to Latin America post-World War II. He asserted that he was dismissed during the investigation because he refused to “cover up the truth” regarding the predecessor bank’s connections to the Nazis.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper from the Simon Wiesenthal Center commented that “the Nazi-linked accounts, shell companies, and the financial networks enabling the Nazis to evade justice remain largely untouched” during past investigations.

In written testimony submitted on May 21, UBS reinforced its authority to withhold privileged records, indicating that its previously positive relationship with Barofsky soured as the bank sought to wrap up the extensive investigation by the end of the year.

The Swiss bank claimed it provided Barofsky access to about 16.5 million pages of documents, withholding less than 0.1% to maintain attorney-client privilege linked to class-action settlements with Holocaust victims from the 1990s. They emphasized that documents dating back to the 1990s and earlier are not withheld, even if included in class-action files.

UBS mentioned concerns about a potential “threat of litigation” from the Simon Wiesenthal Center related to reinstating the 1999 settlement, which contributed to their decision to withhold certain documents.

As of now, officials from the Treasury Department and the State Department have yet to respond to inquiries for comments.