Grassley Presses UBS on Transparency, Ongoing Investigation into Credit Suisse's Nazi-Linked Accounts

WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today chaired a hearing to examine Swiss banks' hidden Nazi ties. The hearing provided an update on Grassley and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's (D-R.I.) ongoing investigation into Credit Suisse's historic servicing of Nazi-linked accounts.

In response to Grassley's questions, Neil Barofsky - the independent ombudsperson tasked with investigating Credit Suisse's Nazi-linked accounts - discussed his investigative progress, including new evidence regarding Credit Suisse's involvement in forced asset transfers and Nazi ratlines, as well as UBS's efforts to restrict his access to relevant documents. UBS acquired Credit Suisse in 2023.

UBS representatives Robert Karofsky and Barbara Levi confirmed to Grassley that Barofsky's final report to Congress will include as many unredacted names of Nazi-linked account holders as possible, within the bounds of Swiss law.

Grassley questioned the following witnesses:

• The Honorable Neil Barofsky, Independent Ombudsperson and Partner of Jenner & Block LLP
• Robert Karofsky, President of UBS Americas and Co-President of the Global Wealth Management Division for UBS
• Barbara Levi, Group General Counsel for UBS
• Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center

Grassley's opening statement is available HERE. Video and excerpts of Grassley's questions follow.

VIDEO

On Barofsky's investigation into Credit Suisse:

Grassley: "Describe to the Committee the most important investigative findings that you've uncovered to date."

Barofsky: "The one that hits me the deepest, Mr. Chairman, is the forced transfer of assets… We have descriptions of different ones, examples that we are disclosing for the first time in my testimony. But I can't help but think of the civil servant…. I just can't help but think of that individual saving money bit by bit… and as sort of the horrors of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany in 1930 started to descend, thinking, 'Okay, I'm going to put my savings in a Swiss bank. That's where it will be safe. That's where I can be sure that even if I don't make it out of this, maybe my kids or my grandchildren can benefit from that money that I saved.'

"I think about what must have gone through these people's minds when they found out that their assets, their life savings, are being plucked from their accounts and delivered to their Nazi oppressors. And I think of [one of] the individuals we talk about: he was boarded on a train to the concentration camp to his eventual murder and [knew] that he had been left penniless at the hands of that Swiss bank."

On UBS withholding relevant documents from Barofsky's investigation:

Grassley: "Inspector General Barofsky, as Independent Ombudsman you've faced challenges in overseeing this important and historic investigation. Credit Suisse previously wrongfully fired you… and recently, UBS has imposed access restrictions… How has the current UBS leadership impacted your ability to get the job done? In your answer, please address how the current UBS leadership has reacted to your concerns."

Barofsky: "It's essential for me… to have access to all relevant documents. The way [documents are] defined [as] relevant [is if] these are accounts that indicate whether or not a particular Nazi or Nazi-enabler had an account or didn't have an account.

"When I agreed to come back to UBS, we framed our engagement letter in a way to make sure that what happened previously under Credit Suisse could not happen again. And so, our engagement letter makes clear… that we're entitled to all [relevant] documents.

"To give an example, when this dispute first arose, we gave a set of search terms to the bank, and those search terms were the names of the [Nazi-affiliated] individuals and entities that are referenced in my written testimony. We asked [UBS] to run them against a set of documents that the bank said might be privileged. And there were hits - there were positives. Those are the documents, some of the documents, that are being withheld. We need to have access to that information in order to finish the job."

On UBS providing Congress an unredacted version of Barofsky's final report:

Grassley: "Mr. Karofsky and Ms. Levi, it's my understanding that once the investigative report is finished, the Senate may not have access to a version that names all Nazi-linked account holders… Will UBS commit to providing [the Senate] a report with unredacted names?"

Levi: "We are working with Mr. Barofsky to try to provide as many names as possible. There are limitations due to Swiss law. However, we don't want to protect any of those names, and we will put our best efforts to provide as many names as possible."

On the Simon Wiesenthal Center's efforts to hold Nazi-linked banks accountable:

Grassley: "Rabbi Cooper, as I mentioned in my opening, this Committee is aware of the legal action that UBS has taken against [the Simon Wiesenthal Center]. I want to thank you for being here. What are the three most important points you want the public to take away from this hearing?"

Cooper: "Number one… genocides can only take place when you have organization, industry, infrastructure, bureaucracy and access to banks. I think the work and the commitment of this Committee - I pray and hope - will help… make sure that no one involved in crimes against humanity… would ever be in a position to retain those blood-soaked assets.

"Secondly, we're talking about misleading history. The Swiss banks - despite their promises over a course of decades… have withheld the truth… We need to make sure there's going to be accountability. We have to deal with the facts as they are emerging and not just rely on institutional statements made decades ago.

"Finally… we need to create a repository for the important documentation that has emerged as a result of Mr. Barofsky's research and, I might add, the intervention on the part of President Milei of Argentina, who's opened up and unlocked millions of documents within Argentinian archives. We need a repository for all that information, so researchers, the media, young students [and] future generations can learn from the terrible errors of the past and not repeat them."

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