Julius Bär cleared over missing German millions

Julius Bär has always denied responsibility for the missing reunification million Keystone

A Zurich court has ruled that Julius Bär bank was not responsible for almost CHF100 million of money that missing from accounts during the reunification of East and West Germany.

A German state department responsible for investigating irregularities over the 1990 reunification had demanded the return of CHF97 million plus CHF107 million in interest payments – a total of CHF204 million ($202 million) – from the Swiss private bank.

An East German trading company is alleged to have withdrawn the money between 1990 and 1992 from the former Cantrade bank, which Julius Bär bought from UBS in 2005.

Following fruitless negotiations, a writ was filed against Julius Bär in 2014. In a ruling earlier this week – made public by Julius Bär on Friday – the Zurich district court said the Swiss private bank could not be responsible for what went on at Cantrade at the time.

“Julius Bär has always contested the claims,” the bank said in a statement, also noting that the court decision could be appealed to a higher court.