A 72-year-old Israeli rabbi says he has discovered evidence of secret Nazi-era Swiss bank accounts left untouched since World War II. His claims have revived old questions about Swiss neutrality, banking secrecy, and the unfinished business of restitution.
A Rabbi’s Unlikely Pursuit
Rabbi Ephraim Meir, a German-Israeli scholar and former army chaplain, lives a quiet life devoted to study and family. Yet, according to him, a worn briefcase he carries contains documents that may unlock one of Europe’s most sensitive financial mysteries — six numbered Swiss bank accounts allegedly opened by Nazi affiliates before the war.
As first reported by Riva Pomerantz, an investigative journalist with Ami Magazine, Meir says that the heirs of one of these account holders have transferred their rights to him. Any funds recovered, he insists, will go toward charitable and religious causes — “to turn treif money into something kosher.”
His claim cuts to the heart of a long-standing moral and legal debate: what became of the Nazi-linked fortunes that flowed into Switzerland during Europe’s darkest years?
From East German Files to Swiss Vaults
According to Ami Magazine, Meir’s story began in 2007 when East German lawyers approached him with a proposition. Their clients believed they were connected to Nazi-era assets frozen in Swiss banks. They sought an Israeli intermediary to challenge what they called a “wall of secrecy.”
At first, Meir refused. Then came the faxes — lists of account numbers, passwords, and postwar bank merger trails.
A potential partnership with Israel’s late finance minister Yaakov Neeman fell apart over legal conflicts, but Meir pressed on. He says Israeli intelligence services refused to get officially involved but offered quiet moral support.
The Zurich Meeting
In March 2009, Meir and German banking lawyer Harald Reichart, an expert in dormant accounts, secured a meeting at UBS headquarters in Zurich.
As reported by Ami Magazine, they presented archival records and identifiers from East German archives, asking: “Where are these accounts now?”
A senior UBS lawyer allegedly replied that the accounts had been transferred to the Claims Resolution Tribunal (CRT) — the international body established after 1990s U.S. lawsuits against Swiss banks to manage Holocaust-related assets.
For Meir, the answer was astonishing. The CRT, he argued, was created to manage the restitution of assets belonging to Holocaust victims, not Nazi officials.
UBS has said publicly that it fully complied with all legal and restitution processes. Paris Paper has not independently verified the 2009 meeting or the existence of the accounts.
The Shadows of Swiss Neutrality
Switzerland’s role in the Second World War remains a subject of moral controversy. Officially neutral, the country’s financial institutions handled gold, currency, and other assets tied to the Nazi regime.
In the 1990s, revelations by UBS employee Christoph Meili, who exposed the destruction of wartime archives, reignited global outrage. The scandal led to a $1.25 billion settlement and the creation of the Claims Resolution Tribunal, which reviewed tens of thousands of dormant accounts tied to Holocaust victims.
Meir distinguishes between the original CRT, which he calls “legitimate,” and what he refers to as “CRT-II” — a later phase he claims was marred by secrecy, incomplete audits, and rejected claims.
Most CRT files remain sealed under U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman’s order until 2070, though they may be reopened if new evidence arises.
The Heir and the Map
After years of investigation, Meir and Reichart say they located Detlev Köhler, the son of a Nazi-era intelligence officer. In 2023, Köhler and his sister allegedly met with Meir in Zug, Switzerland, and signed documents transferring all rights to him.
At the same meeting, they revealed a hand-drawn map found hidden in a desk — marking a tunnel near Buchenwald said to contain buried valuables.
German authorities, Meir says, have authorized preliminary surveys to determine whether excavation is feasible.
Paris Paper has not independently verified these accounts or the authenticity of the documents.
Seeking Accountability
After UBS declined further discussions, Meir began calling for the creation of a “third CRT” — a new, transparent tribunal to handle unresolved accounts with full disclosure.
His attorney, Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik of AEA Justinian Lawyers, told Ami Magazine that UBS’s 2023 acquisition of Credit Suisse unites decades of Swiss banking history — and with it, the responsibility for transparency.
“They will need to open the books,” Podovsovnik said.
Meir is also preparing to file legal motions in U.S. courts and to engage diplomatic channels to press Switzerland for cooperation.
Faith Over Fortune
If successful, Meir says any recovered funds will be directed to religious and humanitarian causes. Among his pledges: donating 18 Torah scrolls in memory of the victims of the 2008 Merkaz HaRav terror attack — a date that coincided with his first UBS meeting.
He maintains that his mission is moral, not financial. Still, the challenges are immense — tracing ownership through decades of mergers, reopening sealed cases, and navigating one of the world’s most secretive banking systems.
For Meir, the search is about more than money — it’s about historical truth.
“Justice has a long memory,” he told Ami Magazine. “If the doors won’t open, we’ll knock through the courts.”
Whether those doors lead to hidden fortunes or another archive of silence remains uncertain.
Contact for Holocaust-Era Account Claims
Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik, LL.M., M.A.S.
Vice President, AEA Justinian Lawyers
📧 office@drlaw.eu | 📞 +43 664 110 3403
Editor’s Note
This report summarizes Ami Magazine’s investigation “Nazis, Swiss Banks & the Jewish Money That Vanished” (October 1, 2025) by Riva Pomerantz.
All factual claims regarding Rabbi Ephraim Meir, UBS, Credit Suisse, and the Claims Resolution Tribunal (CRT) are attributed to that publication.
Paris Paper has not independently reviewed sealed or disputed records.
Historical background on the Swiss Banks Holocaust Settlement is available through the Claims Conference and U.S. District Court filings from the 1998 settlement.
This article is published for journalistic analysis and commentary under international press freedom and fair use standards. Paris Paper makes no independent allegations of wrongdoing.
