A 72-year-old Israeli rabbi claims to hold evidence of Nazi-era Swiss bank accounts frozen since World War II. His pursuit of the truth is reigniting global debate about Swiss neutrality, wartime finance, and whether moral justice can still be achieved nearly a century later.
The Rabbi and the Secret Accounts
Rabbi Ephraim Meir, a German-Israeli scholar with a calm demeanor and modest lifestyle, says he holds documents linking six numbered Swiss bank accounts to Nazi-era depositors.
As first reported by Riva Pomerantz, an investigative journalist with Ami Magazine, the heirs of one account holder have allegedly transferred their legal rights to him. Meir insists that if the accounts are ever recovered, the proceeds will go entirely to charity — “to turn treif money into something kosher.”
The claim touches one of Europe’s most complex postwar issues: the unaccounted funds that passed through Switzerland’s banking system during and after the Holocaust.
From East German Archives to Zurich
According to Ami Magazine, Meir’s story began in 2007 when East German lawyers contacted him about clients who believed their families were linked to hidden Nazi-era funds in Swiss banks. They sought an Israeli intermediary to penetrate the “wall of secrecy” that had shielded such accounts for decades.
Initially skeptical, Meir hung up. But then came the faxes — with account numbers, access codes, and merger trails from banks absorbed during postwar consolidation.
A possible partnership with Israel’s late finance minister Yaakov Neeman fell through due to conflicts of interest. Still, Meir continued. Israeli intelligence agencies, he says, refused direct involvement but did not discourage him.
The 2009 UBS Meeting
In March 2009, Meir and German banking lawyer Harald Reichart, an expert on dormant accounts, met with executives at UBS headquarters in Zurich.
According to Ami Magazine, the pair presented historical records and identifiers from East German archives, asking not for payment but simply: “Where are these accounts now?”
A senior UBS lawyer allegedly responded that the accounts had been transferred to the Claims Resolution Tribunal (CRT) — the body established after 1990s U.S. class-action lawsuits to handle Holocaust-related assets.
For Meir, this was startling. The CRT was created to process claims of Holocaust victims, not accounts belonging to Nazi operatives.
UBS has said it fully complied with international restitution agreements. Cairo Mag has not independently verified the 2009 meeting or the accounts described.
Switzerland’s Financial Shadows
Switzerland’s wartime neutrality remains one of the country’s most controversial legacies. While it avoided military involvement, its banks handled Reich-linked gold, currencies, and other assets from Nazi-occupied territories.
The issue erupted in the 1990s when UBS employee Christoph Meili revealed the destruction of wartime records. The scandal led to a $1.25 billion settlement and the creation of the Claims Resolution Tribunal, which reviewed tens of thousands of dormant accounts tied to Holocaust victims.
Meir now alleges that later phases of the CRT process — which he calls “CRT-II” — suffered from corruption, data manipulation, and the rejection of legitimate claims.
Much of the CRT’s record remains sealed under U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman’s order until 2070, though he has allowed for reconsideration if new evidence surfaces.
The Heir and the Hidden Map
After years of research, Meir and Reichart say they found Detlev Köhler, son of a Nazi-era intelligence officer. In 2023, Köhler and his sister allegedly met with Meir in Zug, Switzerland, and transferred full ownership rights to him.
At the same meeting, they reportedly revealed a hand-drawn map found inside a hidden desk compartment — showing a tunnel near Buchenwald where valuables were said to have been buried before the war’s end.
German authorities, Meir says, have approved limited geological surveys to assess the site’s safety before excavation.
Cairo Mag could not independently verify these claims.
Pushing for Transparency
Since UBS declined further contact, Meir has called for a “third CRT” — a new, transparent tribunal to handle outstanding dormant account cases with full disclosure.
His attorney, Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik of AEA Justinian Lawyers, told Ami Magazine that UBS’s 2023 acquisition of Credit Suisse merges decades of banking history and consolidates accountability.
“They will need to open the books,” Podovsovnik said.
Meir is also preparing to seek discovery orders in U.S. courts and to pursue diplomatic channels for Swiss cooperation.
A Mission of Faith and Memory
If successful, Meir says he will dedicate the funds to religious education and remembrance projects. Among his plans: the donation of 18 Torah scrolls in memory of those killed in the 2008 Merkaz HaRav attack — a date that coincided with his first UBS meeting.
He vows to maintain a modest personal life. Still, the legal and logistical obstacles remain vast — proving account ownership, tracing bank mergers, and challenging settlements that many consider closed.
For Meir, however, the issue is not wealth but justice.
“Justice has a long memory,” he told Ami Magazine. “If the doors won’t open, we’ll knock through the courts.”
Whether those doors lead to lost fortunes or more silence remains to be seen.
Contact for Holocaust-Era Account Claims
Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik, LL.M., M.A.S.
Vice President, AEA Justinian Lawyers
📧 office@drlaw.eu | 📞 +43 664 110 3403
Editor’s Note
This report draws from Ami Magazine’s investigation “Nazis, Swiss Banks & the Jewish Money That Vanished” (October 1, 2025) by Riva Pomerantz.
All factual claims regarding Rabbi Ephraim Meir, UBS, Credit Suisse, and the Claims Resolution Tribunal (CRT) originate from that publication.
Cairo Mag has not independently verified sealed or disputed records.
Historical background on the Swiss Banks Holocaust Settlement is available via the Claims Conference and U.S. District Court filings related to the 1998 case.
This article is presented for journalistic analysis and commentary under international fair use and regional press freedom standards. Cairo Mag makes no independent allegations of wrongdoing.
