UBS Loses Legal Bid to Clarify 1999 Holocaust Asset Accord
(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG failed to persuade a US judge to clarify a 1999 legal settlement about claims against Swiss banks over their handling of Nazi victims during the Holocaust.
US District Judge Edward Korman turned aside the bank’s request to define more clearly the $1.25 billion accord in which UBS and other banks expected protection from all new financial claims. UBS has been locked in a dispute in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a US-based group known for its pursuit of Nazis.
UBS had argued that the 1990s accord in which the company and other Swiss banks settled the claims of Nazi victims covered it from any potential further liability — known or unknown at the time. UBS acquired Credit Suisse in 2023.
At a hearing before Korman in March, UBS attorney David Burns said the bank wanted a clarification from the judge to block the Wiesenthal center from suing for more money and “promote any public controversy” in a way that is inconsistent with the settlement. Any new claims related to Nazi-linked accounts could expose the bank to billions of dollars in liability.
In a ruling on Tuesday, Korman said because there is no lawsuit or motion before him, he couldn’t issue an advisory opinion.
“We appreciate the court’s consideration of this matter, which found that there is not currently a legal dispute between UBS and the SWC,” said Douglas Morris, a spokesman for UBS. “Nothing in the judge’s opinion contradicts our reading of the 1999 settlement agreement.”
UBS discussed the controversy in a recent question and answer on its website.
“The settlement was intended to achieve a global resolution through a conclusive end to the controversy,” the company said. “The SWC and any other Jewish organizations, consistent with their obligations under the 1999 settlement, are free to continue to seek the truth related to the darkest chapter in human history.”
The case is Friedman v. UBS, 96-cv-04849, US District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).
(Updates with UBS comment in the sixth paragraph.)
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