April 19 (UPI) -- The troubled Swiss bank Credit Suisse has a history of serving Nazi-linked clients and held onto such accounts as late as 2020, according to new reports delivered to a Senate committee on Tuesday.
The reports were given to the Senate Budget Committee through a subpoena and bipartisan investigation by committee chair Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. The committee has jurisdiction over budget requests connected to the State Department's Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues.
Last month, the Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden accused Credit Suisse of violating major provisions of a nine-year-old plea agreement it had with the Justice Department to stop wealthy Americans from hiding their assets in its offshore accounts.
The new reports discovered that Credit Suisse had not disclosed that it continued to service accounts to at least 99 individuals who were either senior Nazi officials in Germany or members of Nazi-affiliated groups in Argentina.
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"When it comes to investigating Nazi matters, righteous justice demands that we must leave no stone unturned," Grassley said in a statement. "Credit Suisse has thus far failed to meet that standard.
"While Credit Suisse initially agreed to investigate evidence of previously unidentified Nazi-linked accounts as a result of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's relentless pursuit of justice, the information we've obtained shows the bank established an unnecessarily rigid and narrow scope, and refused to follow new leads uncovered during the course of the review."
Grassley accused Credit Suisse of not conducting a thorough investigation into Nazi account ties, blaming the bank for removing an independent ombudsperson, redacting portions of his report on the matter and refusing to pursue leads on accounts that may be associated with Nazi ratlines.
"Now that the bank has pledged to continue investigating as a result of our oversight, we'll keep a close eye on its thoroughness going forward," he said. "Holocaust survivors and their families deserve nothing less."
Whitehouse supported the effort and criticized CreditSuisse for what he claimed was the bank's effort to downplay the significance of the allegations.
"I share ranking member Grassley's commitment to leaving no stone unturned when it comes to investigating Nazis and seeking justice for Holocaust survivors and their families, and we commit to seeing this investigation through," Whitehouse said.
