This report builds on the investigation by Riva Pomerantz, first published in Ami Magazine (October 2025), which uncovered new evidence linking UBS to long-dormant Nazi-era bank accounts.
More than twenty-five years after Judge Edward Kormann signed the 1998 Holocaust-era bank settlement — believed to have closed the chapter on Switzerland’s wartime finances — new evidence suggests the story is far from over. Files once sealed under U.S. Federal Court supervision, now held at the Jewish Museum of Washington, may contain proof that vast assets were hidden rather than resolved.
Forgotten Accounts Reemerge
Israeli and American sources now point to a disturbing possibility: that UBS, successor to the Basler Handelsbank, may have maintained off-balance-sheet accounts opened by Nazi officials before and during the war.
The renewed investigation is led by Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik, Vice President of AEA Justinian Lawyers, representing Rabbi Ephraim Meir, heir to six principal and twelve subsidiary accounts allegedly tied to high-ranking Nazi figures.
Podovsovnik has filed a petition invoking Fraud on the Court, a U.S. legal principle that could force UBS to reopen its archives and defend its wartime conduct before a federal judge.
“Billions Left on the Table”
Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and a key architect of the 1998 settlement, says as much as $10 billion in assets may have been excluded from the original restitution deal.
“The banks never opened every file,” Lauder told investigators. “It’s time to finish what we started — full transparency, no more excuses.”
His demand has drawn the attention of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is reviewing related Credit Suisse records — now under UBS control after the 2023 merger.
Concealment and Intelligence Leads
According to sources close to Meir’s legal team, irregularities in the Claims Resolution Tribunal (CRT II) process may have resulted in missing or destroyed files.
Evidence cited by the team — partly derived from Mossad intelligence materials — suggests that UBS-linked assets were transferred into postwar U.S. investment networks, hidden through Delaware-based shell companies and private equity funds.
“These findings are not speculative,” says Podovsovnik. “We have verified transfer chains — Nazi gold converted into postwar securities, still under UBS control. Those assets fall under U.S. jurisdiction. The law will follow them.”
Fraud on the Court: A Legal Weapon
In U.S. jurisprudence, Fraud on the Court nullifies any settlement obtained through deception. If proven, it can reopen closed cases regardless of time limits.
“Once evidence of deception appears,” says Podovsovnik, “the burden flips. UBS must prove innocence, open every vault, every ledger. The era of secrecy ends.”
He notes that UBS may soon face a Discovery Order compelling production of all internal records from 1933–1945, as well as a global asset freeze if the bank fails to comply.
The Moral Reckoning
UBS maintains it has cooperated with U.S. inquiries into legacy Credit Suisse accounts. But restitution advocates argue that the problem runs deeper.
“UBS stands at the crossroads of history and morality,” says historian Matthieu Leimgruber of the University of Zurich. “The bank holds the keys to Switzerland’s financial conscience.”
Lauder agrees: “This was never just about money — it’s about moral responsibility. Those who benefited must face what they inherited.”
Echoes of 1945 — and 2025
The sealed archives in Washington may soon return to the spotlight, containing evidence of the so-called “Führer Accounts” — deposits allegedly protected through Swiss secrecy and postwar consolidations.
“We’re not reopening history,” says Podovsovnik. “We’re completing it. Every document, every hidden account must come to light. This is not vengeance. It’s law.”
What Comes Next
The Senate’s final report on Nazi-era assets is expected later this year. Should investigators verify the new claims, U.S. courts could authorize:
- Reopening of the 1998 Swiss Banks Settlement,
- A RICO investigation into organized concealment, and
- A forensic audit of all UBS wartime and successor accounts.
For UBS, the message is unmistakable:
The past isn’t finished — and the echoes of history may soon reach Paradeplatz once again.
Editor’s Note:
This article draws upon Ami Magazine’s October 2025 investigation by Riva Pomerantz and supporting legal documents.
Some claims remain under legal review and have not been independently verified at press time.
