By Chris Prentice and Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi
NEW YORK/ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss lender Credit Suisse did not review all available records when it conducted an internal probe into the historical servicing of Nazi clients and Nazi-linked accounts, according to an investigation published by U.S. lawmakers on Thursday.
The bank failed to include numerous relevant records in its probe, according to details from an independent reviewer’s report obtained and published by the Senate Budget Committee.
“Just under” 1,000 of 65,000 sets of records were available electronically for review, the report said.
The full report also revealed that the bank had blocked the former ombudsman overseeing the probe from seeing “critical” materials, the committee said in a statement.
“Out of respect for Holocaust victims and their families, we cannot turn a blind eye to these shortcomings,” Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, said in a statement.
Neil Barofsky, the former ombudsman, and AlixPartners, the consulting firm Credit Suisse hired to conduct the probe, did not respond immediately to a requests for comment.
A spokesperson for Credit Suisse referred Reuters to its April statement defending its review and raising concerns over the ombudsman’s work.
Credit Suisse commissioned an investigation into allegations levied in 2020 by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization that teaches the lessons of the Holocaust, that the bank held potential Nazi-linked accounts and failed to disclose them.
The lawmakers have been pushing for Credit Suisse to continue its work to track down the value of assets of certain accounts held by Nazis at the bank in the post-1945 period.
The committee previously accused the bank of hindering its own internal investigation.
The new details were first reported by Bloomberg.
(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Chris Prentice, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
An internal probe is an investigation conducted within an organization to examine its practices, policies, or compliance with laws and regulations. It often aims to uncover any misconduct or failures in governance.
Nazi-linked accounts refer to bank accounts associated with individuals or entities that were involved with the Nazi regime during World War II. These accounts may hold assets that were not disclosed or properly managed.
Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. It encompasses the practices and processes that ensure accountability, fairness, and transparency in a company's relationship with its stakeholders.
A financial institution is an organization that provides financial services, such as banking, investment, insurance, and asset management. Examples include banks, credit unions, and investment firms.
Risk management involves identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks followed by coordinated efforts to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events in financial contexts.
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