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Holocaust survivors file class-action suit against Swiss bank
DANIEL KURTZMAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - Holocaust victims stepped up legal action against Switzerland this week as efforts to resolve Holocaust-era claims entered a more acerbic phase. Lawyers for Holocaust victims filed a new class-action lawsuit against Switzerland's central bank to recover plundered gold acquired by Switzerland during World War II.
The lawsuit, which is separate from a pending multibillion-dollar lawsuit against Swiss commercial banks, asks the U.S. District Court in Washington to award compensatory and punitive damages to five Holocaust victims.
The lawsuit accuses the Swiss National Bank of "unlawful behavior."
"As a result of their conduct for a period of over 50 years, Swiss National Bank has retained and profited from illegally obtained assets," the lawsuit said.
The Swiss National Bank has said all claims were settled in a 1946 treaty and has vowed to fight any lawsuit against it.
The move came as settlement talks between three Swiss commercial banks and Jewish negotiators collapsed and as U.S. public finance officers prepared to meet Wednesday in New York to consider slapping sanctions on the banks.
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