A new independent investigation has uncovered around 890 previously unknown accounts at Swiss bank Credit Suisse that were potentially linked to the Nazi regime. This was announced by the chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, on the eve of the committee hearings.
According to the senator, among the account holders were Nazi Germany structures: the Third Reich’s Foreign Ministry (which was involved in the deportation of Jews to concentration camps), the paramilitary SS organisation, the German arms company Rheinmetall, and even the German Red Cross during the war. The investigation also confirmed deeper ties between the bank and the SS economic division than previously thought.
Post-war ties attracted particular attention: according to investigators, Credit Suisse played a role in the so-called ‘ratlines’ — networks that helped Nazi criminals flee to Argentina and other countries. The bank not only serviced the accounts of key figures in these networks but also rented out premises in Bern that were used as headquarters for one of these organisations.
Independent ombudsman and former US prosecutor Neil Barofsky, who has been leading the investigation since 2021, told senators that Credit Suisse’s ties to the Nazi regime were ‘much more extensive than previously known.’ In particular, evidence has been found of funds being transferred from Jewish accounts to accounts linked to the Nazis.
Credit Suisse (acquired by UBS in 2023) began an internal investigation even before the takeover, but senators accuse UBS of obstructing the work of investigators — the bank allegedly refuses to provide more than 150 requested documents.
The investigation is ongoing. Barofsky’s final report is expected to be published later in 2026. The event raises once again the issue of full compensation for Holocaust victims and their descendants, as well as the transparency of the Swiss banking system regarding assets from the Second World War.