[BBC NEWS -
Friday, July 3, 1998 Published at 13:43
GMT 14:43 UK] World: Europe Swiss
banks and Jewish gold Inmates
at Auschwitz concentration camp RELATIVES OF Jewish Holocaust victims
accuse Swiss banks of refusing to release
assets deposited by tens of thousands of
people who died in the Nazi concentration
camps. The banks are also accused of handling
property looted by Nazi Germany from death
camp victims, including gold teeth and
wedding rings. Jewish organisations say that, after
World War II, the Swiss Government and the
banks made it impossible for survivors or
their heirs to reclaim the funds which had
been deposited. They say the banks sought
non-existent death certificates or claimed
the accounts were untraced. Three banks - Credit Suisse, Swiss Bank
and UBS - have offered a
take-it-or-leave-it settlement of $600m in
response to the claims. | 2. 'Insulting'
offer Jewish leaders have rejected the offer
as "insulting" and "humiliating", saying
it is far less than the dormant wartime
assets Holocaust victims say the banks
stole from their families. US Jewish groups are seeking a $1.5bn
settlement that would include the banks,
the Swiss central bank and the Swiss
Government. The issue has become an emotive one in
Switzerland, where a government-appointed
commission of Swiss and foreign historians
has criticised the Swiss National Bank for
turning a blind eye and failing to
question the source of gold received
during the war from the Nazi
authorities. Talks
impasse Talks on a global settlement between
Jewish groups and the banks have reached
an impasse. The Swiss Government has strongly
criticised a move by US local authorities
to impose sanctions on Swiss banks over
the affair, and bank officials have said
they are considering revoking the $600m
offer. They have also raised the prospect of
suing US states or cities that impose
sanctions. |
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