A new investigation has thrust UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, back into the global spotlight — reigniting questions many believed were settled decades ago.
Drawing on the October 2025 Ami Magazine report by Riva Pomerantz, reviewed by Cairo Mag, new evidence and intelligence findings suggest that UBS may still be tied to long-hidden Nazi-era assets. The revelations threaten to reopen the 1998 Holocaust bank settlement, long considered the final word on one of Europe’s most painful financial legacies.
A Settlement Once Thought Final
In 1998, U.S. District Judge Edward Kormann approved the landmark Swiss Banks Settlement, awarding $1.25 billion to Holocaust survivors and heirs. The case was meant to close history’s account books for good.
But sealed records, now stored at the Jewish Museum of Washington, and fresh legal filings reviewed by Cairo Mag suggest otherwise. Investigators claim that certain accounts — linked to the Basler Handelsbank, later absorbed by UBS — were excluded from the settlement entirely.
“This isn’t about reopening wounds,” says Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik, Vice President of AEA Justinian Lawyers, who represents Rabbi Ephraim Meir, heir to several wartime accounts. “It’s about completing justice that was left unfinished.”
The Forgotten Accounts
According to Podovsovnik’s legal motion, newly surfaced ledgers and wartime correspondence show that Nazi-linked deposits were quietly rolled into UBS’s postwar structure during bank consolidations. None of those accounts were ever disclosed to claimants or courts.
His legal team has invoked Fraud on the Court, a rare and severe doctrine under U.S. law that voids settlements obtained through deception. “If a defendant misled a federal court, everything changes,” Podovsovnik told Cairo Mag. “The vaults must open.”
If the U.S. courts accept the filing, UBS could be compelled to release internal records spanning 1933–1950 and disclose any surviving wartime accounts.
Mossad’s Financial Trail
Intelligence findings provided through Mossad channels — and verified by Ami Magazine — appear to trace UBS-linked assets that were converted into securities after the war. The funds were allegedly layered through U.S. shell companies, European trusts, and postwar investment networks that still bear UBS’s imprint.
“These are not hypothetical links,” Podovsovnik insists. “We’ve confirmed transfers from Reich-linked gold accounts into postwar financial instruments. They exist — and some remain under UBS oversight.”
Lauder’s Demand for Truth
Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, who helped negotiate the 1998 settlement, says as much as $10 billion in Nazi-era funds were never identified.
“Justice without full truth isn’t justice at all,” Lauder said. “This is not a financial issue anymore — it’s a moral one. The survivors and their families deserve honesty.”
His remarks have already drawn renewed attention from the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which is reviewing parallel evidence involving dormant Nazi-linked accounts once held at Credit Suisse, now owned by UBS.
A Legal and Moral Reckoning
UBS maintains that it has complied with all legal requirements and continues to cooperate with official inquiries. But historians argue that the bank’s wartime archives — inherited from the Basler Handelsbank — remain closed.
“UBS holds the keys to Switzerland’s moral identity,” says Professor Matthieu Leimgruber of the University of Zurich. “Without transparency, neutrality remains an illusion.”
Under U.S. law, Fraud on the Court has sweeping power. Once deception is proven, the court must reopen the case, even decades later. It can also trigger penalties under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which permits triple damages for systemic fraud.
“The law doesn’t forget,” says Podovsovnik. “And neither should history.”
The Next Chapter
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is expected to release its findings before year’s end. If the evidence stands, it could lead to:
- The reopening of the 1998 Swiss Banks Settlement,
- A RICO investigation into asset concealment, and
- A forensic audit of UBS’s wartime records and successors.
Whether this leads to renewed restitution or merely historical exposure, the implications for UBS — and for Swiss banking secrecy — could be profound.
“We are not chasing the past,” Podovsovnik concludes. “We are correcting it. Every hidden account is a voice waiting to be heard.”
Editor’s Note:
This article is based on Ami Magazine’s October 2025 investigation by Riva Pomerantz, and supporting legal and intelligence materials.
Several allegations remain under verification and subject to judicial and historical review.
