An exclusive interview with Dr. Gerhard Podovsovnik, Vice President of AEA Justinian Lawyers
Abu Dhabi Times:
Dr. Podovsovnik, you have just issued a formal demand to the Swiss Federal Council and to Federal Councillor Suter, calling Switzerland a “historical perpetrator state.” What prompted such a drastic statement?
Dr. Podovsovnik:
What is drastic is not my language – it is the truth that Switzerland has buried for eighty years. The Bergier Report, commissioned by Switzerland itself, proved that the Swiss state, its National Bank and its private banks acted as willing economic accomplices of the Nazi regime. Switzerland bought stolen gold from the Reich, traded in looted property, granted export guarantees for weapons and refused desperate Jewish refugees entry even when it knew they were being sent “straight into the gas chambers.” That is not neutrality. That is moral complicity.
Abu Dhabi Times:
You accuse Switzerland not only of moral failure but of an unfulfilled legal obligation.
Dr. Podovsovnik:
Absolutely. Switzerland signed the Washington Agreement and promised restitution and transparency. It has done neither. A few billion paid under pressure in the 1990s cannot erase the theft of generations. The so-called Global Settlement of 1998–2000 was a deception – built on fraud on the court, as our American attorneys have established. Thousands of dormant accounts were deliberately concealed. The Bergier Report makes clear that Swiss prosperity after the war was fuelled by hidden Nazi assets. These assets are still circulating, still generating profit. That is why we demand legislation for full disclosure and cooperation of every Swiss bank – without exception, without secrecy, without delay.
Abu Dhabi Times:
Your letter gives Switzerland seventy-two hours to enter talks. What happens if they refuse?
Dr. Podovsovnik:
Then the matter will go before international and U.S. courts. Switzerland has enjoyed immunity through silence long enough. If it continues to hide behind outdated banking laws, it brands itself again as a perpetrator state. The current generation is not personally guilty, but continued denial will make them accessories after the fact. No modern democracy can build its wealth on stolen blood money and expect to escape justice.
Abu Dhabi Times:
You represent Rabbi Ephraim Meir, whose name has appeared in connection with historical accounts at UBS.
Dr. Podovsovnik:
Yes. Rabbi Meir is the lawful heir to six principal and twelve subsidiary accounts that were created during the Nazi period and remain hidden within UBS structures. His claim is not only personal; it stands for thousands of Jewish families who were robbed of everything – property, life, and finally the truth. When a Jewish rabbi today demands the return of Nazi-era assets, the question is: Will Switzerland once again respond with antisemitism disguised as banking secrecy, or will it finally choose justice?
Abu Dhabi Times:
That is a powerful accusation. Do you believe Switzerland still shows elements of that antisemitism?
Dr. Podovsovnik:
When a state prefers to protect institutions that once profited from genocide rather than the victims’ heirs, it is acting out of greed and fear, not justice. Antisemitism does not always shout; sometimes it hides behind polished neutrality and legal excuses. If the Swiss government truly wants to free itself from this burden, it must adopt comprehensive transparency laws compelling every financial institution to cooperate in a full, AI-assisted forensic audit of all pre-1948 accounts. That is the only path to moral rehabilitation.
Abu Dhabi Times:
You cite investigative journalist Riva Pomerantz, who first published the story in Ami Magazine. What role did her work play?
Dr. Podovsovnik:
Her courage was the spark. She dared to publish what others whispered: that these accounts still exist and that UBS knows it. Our team took that lead, verified it with documentation and witness testimony, and now we bring it into the open. The Swiss authorities cannot claim ignorance any longer.
Abu Dhabi Times:
What will happen if the Swiss government and UBS still refuse full cooperation and disclosure?
Dr. Podovsovnik:
If Switzerland and UBS do not fully cooperate, if they refuse to enact binding disclosure laws and enable the complete and final opening of the archives of all 471 historic Swiss banks, then U.S. federal courts will act. They will reopen the Global Settlement proceedings on grounds of fraud on the court. We will seek judicial orders compelling disclosure, asset tracing, and the freezing of related funds worldwide. Switzerland can no longer hide behind the myth of neutrality. It has one last chance to demonstrate moral courage — or it will be dragged, once again, into the courtroom of history, this time not as a witness but as a defendant.
Abu Dhabi Times:
What is your final message to the Swiss government and the banks?
Dr. Podovsovnik:
My message is simple: No more excuses. No more silence. No more profiting from blood. Every hidden Nazi account, every archived ledger, every secret vault must be opened. Not one stone may remain unturned, not one franc of Nazi wealth may remain in Swiss hands. After eighty years, justice is not revenge – it is redemption.
Abu Dhabi Times:
Dr. Podovsovnik, thank you for your time.
Dr. Podovsovnik:
Thank you. Justice delayed for eighty years is still justice waiting to be done.
