A long-running investigation into Switzerland’s wartime banking practices has uncovered nearly 900 Credit Suisse accounts with potential Nazi links, including previously undisclosed accounts tied to the German government and its war machine, according to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley.

Grassley revealed the findings ahead of a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday examining the role of global banks in facilitating the Holocaust. The Iowa Republican said investigators have identified 890 accounts at the former Swiss lender with possible ties to Nazi Germany—far more extensive, he said, than previously acknowledged.

Among the newly identified accounts were wartime holdings connected to the German Foreign Office, a German arms manufacturing company, and the German Red Cross, Grassley told reporters. He also cited evidence suggesting Credit Suisse’s relationships with the Nazi regime’s paramilitary organization, the SS, ran deeper than earlier investigations found.

“The records show the SS’s economic arm maintained an account at Credit Suisse,” Grassley said, describing it as part of a broader pattern of cooperation with Nazi institutions.

The investigation is being overseen by former U.S. prosecutor Neil Barofsky, who was brought in after UBS acquired Credit Suisse in a government-brokered emergency takeover in 2023. UBS has said it is cooperating fully with the review, which it describes as a voluntary effort to bring clarity to unresolved questions about Swiss banking during World War II.

Grassley said he has received two interim reports and an investigative update from Barofsky, which also surfaced new details about alleged financial schemes that helped Nazis flee Europe after the war, including routes to Argentina.

Both UBS and Credit Suisse have previously apologized for their conduct during the World War II era and were part of a 1999 global settlement intended to resolve Holocaust-era claims. In prepared testimony released ahead of the hearing, UBS emphasized that the settlement was meant to provide “finality and closure” to the controversy, while characterizing the current probe as an additional, voluntary initiative.

Still, UBS acknowledged the gravity of the findings.

“We approach today’s topic with solemn respect,” Robert Karofsky, president of UBS Americas, said in prepared remarks. He added that when UBS took over Credit Suisse, it committed to restarting and fully supporting the investigation.

“With three years of experience, our priority is to complete this review so that the world can benefit from the findings in the coming final report,” Karofsky said.

According to Senate Judiciary Committee aides, the investigation is expected to conclude by early summer, with a final public report anticipated by the end of the year—setting the stage for renewed scrutiny of how Swiss banks profited during one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century, and how much remains unresolved decades later.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)