Two decades after the world thought it had closed the chapter on Nazi-era bank accounts, UBS is once again under the spotlight.
A new investigation — based on Ami Magazine’s October 2025 report by Riva Pomerantz and reviewed by the Union Mirror — suggests that the Swiss banking giant may have concealed assets dating back to the Second World War. The evidence includes sealed financial ledgers, Mossad intelligence, and legal filings that could reopen the 1998 Holocaust bank settlement.
The revelations raise troubling questions about how far Switzerland’s largest bank — and one of the world’s most powerful financial institutions — went to bury its past.
The Settlement That Should Have Closed It All
When U.S. District Judge Edward Kormann approved the 1998 Holocaust-era Swiss Banks Settlement, the world believed justice had finally been served. More than $1.25 billion was paid to survivors and heirs, and the remaining records were sealed inside the Jewish Museum of Washington, under U.S. federal supervision.
But newly uncovered documents suggest that critical accounts were left out of that agreement. According to investigators, wartime deposits linked to Nazi officials, routed through the Basler Handelsbank — later absorbed by UBS — may have remained hidden.
“This was never closure, only containment,” says Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik, Vice President of AEA Justinian Lawyers, who represents Rabbi Ephraim Meir, heir to several of the so-called “Führer Accounts.” “We now have the evidence the world wasn’t ready to see.”
A Case Built on New Evidence
Podovsovnik’s team has filed motions in U.S. federal court invoking Fraud on the Court, a powerful legal principle that allows past settlements to be reopened if it can be proven that evidence was suppressed.
“Fraud on the Court isn’t about relitigating history — it’s about truth,” he told the Union Mirror. “If a defendant deceives a federal judge, every judgment that followed is void. The law demands a full reopening.”
If accepted, the claim would compel UBS to produce internal wartime ledgers, merger documents, and correspondence detailing how the Basler Handelsbank’s assets were consolidated into UBS’s postwar structure.
Mossad’s Findings
According to documents reviewed by the Union Mirror, Mossad intelligence played a crucial role in tracing UBS-linked assets. Postwar transfer chains revealed that Nazi gold and currency were converted into securities, hidden within U.S.-registered shell corporations and European holding firms still connected to UBS’s financial network.
“These are verifiable trails,” says Podovsovnik. “We’ve matched account codes to current trust structures. The funds are in U.S. jurisdiction now — that means the law applies.”
The Missing Billions
Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and one of the original architects of the 1998 settlement, estimates that between $5 billion and $10 billion in Nazi-linked assets were never included in the restitution process.
“Everyone thought the door was closed,” Lauder said. “But new evidence shows entire vaults were left untouched. Transparency isn’t optional anymore.”
His statements have drawn attention from the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which has been examining similar dormant accounts once managed by Credit Suisse, now fully merged under UBS.
Legal and Moral Ramifications
Under U.S. law, Fraud on the Court annuls any settlement obtained through deception, even decades later. If proven, the courts could order an asset freeze, compel UBS to open its archives, and reopen restitution proceedings for surviving heirs.
The implications extend beyond law. “This isn’t only about money,” says Professor Matthieu Leimgruber of the University of Zurich. “It’s about accountability. UBS holds the moral ledger of Switzerland’s wartime neutrality.”
UBS, for its part, maintains that it complies with all settlement requirements and continues to cooperate with ongoing U.S. inquiries.
The Unfinished Reckoning
Rabbi Meir’s case — once seen as symbolic — has now become central to what may be one of the largest asset-recovery efforts in financial history. His attorney argues that UBS not only absorbed the Basler Handelsbank’s accounts but also its unfulfilled obligations.
“UBS inherited everything — the money and the responsibility,” Podovsovnik says. “The current leadership didn’t create this problem, but if they stay silent, they become part of it.”
AEA Justinian Lawyers has already sent formal notices to UBS Group AG in Zurich and UBS Americas in New York, demanding the immediate release of relevant records.
What Comes Next
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is expected to issue a report on Nazi-era financial assets later this year. If the findings align with the new evidence, experts believe the courts could:
- Reopen the 1998 Swiss Banks Settlement,
- Initiate RICO proceedings for systemic concealment, and
- Mandate a global forensic audit of UBS’s wartime and postwar accounts.
Whatever the outcome, the message from Washington to Zurich is clear:
History doesn’t fade with time — it waits in silence, until the truth is forced into daylight.
Editor’s Note:
This article is based on Ami Magazine’s October 2025 investigation by Riva Pomerantz, and on corroborating legal and intelligence materials.
Some allegations remain unverified and under active legal review.
