Switzerland’s banks are once again under fire as new allegations surface that the country still conceals assets looted during the Holocaust. In an exclusive interview with the Abu Dhabi Times, international attorney Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik accused the Swiss government and its financial institutions of maintaining dormant Nazi-era accounts and profiting from them for decades.
“The Bergier Report already exposed what happened,” Podovsovnik said. “Swiss banks bought stolen Nazi gold, handled looted property, and turned away Jewish refugees who were being sent to their deaths. Neutrality was not a moral position — it was an economic one.”
The remarks have reopened an issue that has haunted Switzerland’s international reputation for nearly a century: the intersection of financial secrecy, wartime profiteering, and moral responsibility.
A Renewed Legal Challenge
Podovsovnik’s law firm, AEA Justinian Lawyers, has filed a formal demand with the Swiss Federal Council and Federal Councillor Suter, urging legislation to require every Swiss bank to disclose accounts opened before 1948. “Thousands of dormant accounts remain hidden in the archives,” he told the Abu Dhabi Times. “The Global Settlement of the 1990s did not bring justice — it merely quieted the scandal.”
His team argues that the Global Settlement, once hailed as the final chapter in Holocaust restitution, was based on incomplete data and “fraud on the court.” If the Swiss government fails to comply, Podovsovnik says the matter will be taken before U.S. federal courts, where his firm intends to reopen the case and request global asset tracing, archival disclosure, and potential fund freezes.
“Switzerland can no longer shield itself with banking secrecy,” he said. “Every hidden account represents a piece of stolen history.”
The Human Story Behind the Claims
The case is being brought on behalf of Rabbi Ephraim Meir, who claims inheritance rights to multiple dormant accounts within UBS. Podovsovnik describes his client’s claim as emblematic of thousands of Jewish families who were stripped of their wealth and denied restitution. “This is about recognition, not revenge,” he said. “It’s about telling the truth that was buried for eighty years.”
Beyond the legal action, the accusations have sparked debate among human rights advocates and financial analysts worldwide. Critics argue that the persistence of secrecy in global banking systems undermines transparency and perpetuates historical injustice.
Swiss authorities have not issued an official response to the latest allegations. In previous statements, the government has maintained that the Bergier Commission and subsequent settlements fulfilled its moral and legal obligations.
The Abu Dhabi Times report, titled “Switzerland Must Finally Face Its Moral Bankruptcy”, has reignited conversations across diplomatic, financial, and legal circles.
As calls for accountability grow louder, Switzerland once again finds itself at a crossroads — between the privacy that made it powerful and the transparency that justice now demands.
