Milei To Unseal Records Connecting Swiss Banks To Nazis’ Escape Efforts

Argentinian conservative President Javier Milei has agreed to unseal records hidden for decades that would reveal how Credit Suisse and its predecessor banks helped finance escaping Nazis after World War II so they could evade justice.

In mid-February, Iowa GOP Sen. Charles Grassley ---who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee investigating Credit Suisse’s historical Nazi connections — sent Milei a letter requesting him to unseal the records. “I continue to fight to shine light on the wrongs and injustices from this darkest chapter in history,” Grassley wrote. “This includes decades-long efforts to track the Nazis’ confiscation of all kinds of Jewish valuables and cash.”

Speaking of former U.S. Inspector General Neil Barofsky, who was appointed as the Independent Ombudsperson to comprehensively investigate Credit Suisse’s archives, he stated, “Despite the banks’ best efforts at obstruction, Mr. Barofsky has uncovered a ‘significant connection’ between Credit Suisse and many individuals who helped Nazis flee Europe after World War II via ‘ratlines,’ which are monetary and logistic pathways used by Credit Suisse and other institutions to help Nazis escape justice and relocate to Argentina, among other countries.”

Barofsky had been hired by Credit Suisse in 2021 after the Simon Wiesenthal Center found additional information regarding the possible Nazi connection, but he was fired when the bank felt he had gone too far. He was reinstated in 2023 after Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) rescued Credit Suisse. In 2024, Barofsky told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee that UBS had fully opened its archives. Two separate panels said that Swiss bankers routinely ignored Nazis stealing Jewish assets and also later blocked families’ efforts to reclaim their money.

“The goal and motivation behind this work is to bring about justice and transparency,” Grassley continued. “Regardless of how much time passes, the truth is worth pursuing and the stories of this dark time period are worth telling and making part of the historical record for future generations. … I’m copying President Trump on this letter because my investigative work is being done out of profound respect for the brave and courageous men and women of the United States Armed Forces who fought against Hitler and the Nazis, and freed the courageous Jewish people from those evils -- a sentiment that he would most assuredly agree with.”

https://www.domigood.com/2025/03/milei-to-unseal-records-connecting.html