UBS Loses Bid to Limit Liability for Nazi-Linked Crimes, Judge’s Ruling Shows

A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected UBS’ bid to clarify a $1.25 billion settlement from 1999 of Holocaust-related litigation against Swiss banks by shielding it from claims based on new revelations about Nazi-linked accounts.

U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn, New York, said UBS was seeking an advisory opinion protecting it from “hypothetical” lawsuits that have not been filed.

“Until a genuine case or controversy arises that requires judicial interpretation of its terms, the agreement will continue to speak for itself,” wrote Korman, who oversaw the 1999 settlement.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group, had argued that UBS’ proposal would improperly expand the settlement to encompass newly uncovered facts about banks’ dealings with the Third Reich.

UBS sought Korman’s intervention after an investigation commissioned in 2020 by the former Credit Suisse uncovered additional ties between that bank, its predecessors and Nazis, including 890 accounts with potential Nazi links.

The $1.25 billion was paid by UBS and Credit Suisse and distributed to more than 458,000 Nazi victims and their families.

In a statement, UBS said: “Nothing in the judge’s opinion contradicts our reading of the 1999 settlement agreement.”

Lawyers for the Simon Wiesenthal Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

UBS bought Credit Suisse in a Swiss government-arranged emergency takeover in 2023.