UBS Accused of Hiding Records on Credit Suisse’s Nazi Connections
WASHINGTON — UBS faces allegations of keeping tens of thousands of documents hidden regarding its former subsidiary, Credit Suisse, and its troubling connections to Nazis, particularly concerning the forced transfer of assets belonging to deceased Jewish individuals.
Reports indicate that around 23,000 documents are still “redacted or concealed” as legal teams conduct an independent investigation into Credit Suisse’s historical accounts linked to the Nazi regime. This information was shared in new testimony presented to Parliament on Monday.
Ombudsman Neil Barofsky mentioned in a recent report to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he has not yet seen an additional 1 million pages of documents identified by UBS’s lawyers as potentially confidential.
Delays within this investigation are complicating ongoing negotiations for a $1.25 billion settlement related to Holocaust victims. Barofsky, alongside his forensic firm AlixPartners, claims he has faced barriers in probing 127 cases about the possible “looting of Jewish assets” by “Nazi-linked German bank customers.”
Furthermore, Barofsky’s team has been reportedly restricted from chasing “credible leads” concerning connections between Swiss banks and the SS, or the “rat line” that assisted Nazis in escaping to Latin America post-World War II.
“We are worried that UBS’s aggressive tactics may obscure significant historical truths,” stated Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “These findings raise doubts about UBS’s honesty with our committee and its dedication to a thorough inquiry.”
During a Senate hearing on February 3, UBS officials claimed only “fewer than 150 documents” out of a total of 16.5 million were yet to be shared with the ombudsman, reiterating the same at a related federal court hearing a month later.
However, via email, the bank privately recognized to Barofsky’s team that there were many more documents available.
Barofsky emphasized that some entries marked as single documents were, in fact, extensive files containing “over 1,000 pages each.”
In correspondence to UBS General Counsel Barbara Levi and UBS Americas President Robert Karofsky, Grassley noted “numerous unanswered questions” and requested a reply by April 24 regarding the ombudsman’s follow-up testimony.
Barofsky was initially dismissed but later reinstated due to congressional pressure. An independent monitoring body overseeing Credit Suisse’s investigation into Nazi-affiliated accounts revealed in February that there were 890 accounts possibly associated with Adolf Hitler’s war efforts.
UBS acquired Credit Suisse in March 2023 through an emergency takeover valued at over $3 billion, compelling it to respect a settlement made in the 1990s between Credit Suisse and Holocaust victims.
Previous analysis by the Simon Wiesenthal Center disclosed in 2020 linked 12,000 Nazis who fled to Argentina, many of whom had accounts with Credit Suisse’s predecessor. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, who also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in February, commented on the limitations of prior investigations into Swiss banks.
“While earlier efforts have been significant, they remained incomplete,” Cooper stated. “Much of the Nazi-affiliated accounts, shell companies, and financial networks—those that enabled the Nazis to safeguard their criminal gains and escape justice—were largely overlooked.”
Barofsky aims to wrap up the investigation by the year’s end, but during his testimony on Monday, he pointed out that UBS has set a “voluntary deadline” of July 31, 2026, for all documentation, which adds another layer of difficulty to his task.
UBS representatives have stated in the past that the undisclosed documents are “a limited set of files and communications protected by attorney-client privilege related to the 1990s Holocaust class action lawsuit and the 1999 settlement agreement.” They clarified that the bank’s historical voluntary review is focused on its activities during World War II, not on the litigation linked to the 1999 agreement.
A representative from UBS did not reply to inquiries for comments.
