Who is allowed to submit a search request ?

Anyone can make a request, regardless of nationality, place of residence, race, religious denomination, etc.

Requests concerning assets dating from the Second World War that belonged to Jewish or other Holocaust victims of Nazi persecution are not the only ones taken into consideration. 

People who believe that they are heirs to dormant assets deposited in Swiss banks can contact the Banking Ombudsman or ATAG Ernst & Young in Basel, who will immediately send back a questionnaire and a brief explanation of the procedure and how it works.

After filling out the questionnaire, claimants must return it along with a check for one hundred Swiss francs. Although this deposit has been the subject of public controversy, it serves simply as a means to prevent misuse of the system.

According to Swiss Bankers Association directives, a search will get underway once five conditions have been met:

• Establish in a plausible manner that an account could have been opened in a Swiss bank
• State the name of the queried account holder
• Prove that the bank customer is deceased or has been missing for over ten years
• Establish in a plausible manner your legitimate right to the account
• Indicate where in Switzerland the requested search is to be conducted