Steinmetz Appeals Bribery Conviction in Swiss Court

(IDEX Online) - Diamond billionaire Beny Steinmetz today (Monday) launches an appeal after he was convicted of bribing officials in Guinea for valuable iron ore mining rights.

He was sentenced to a five-year jail term and ordered to pay a $52m fine by a judge in Switzerland in January 2021.

The court heard that Steinmetz, 66, a French and Israeli citizen, and others, paid $8.5m in a series of bribes to  Mamadie Toure, widow of  the country's former president Lansana Conte, to secure mining rights for the BSGR Group (Beny Steinmetz Group Resources), which is now in administration. 

Steinmetz (pictured) has always insisted he is innocent of any wrongdoing related to one of the world's biggest untapped deposits of iron ore. He has been allowed to remain at liberty pending his appeal.

The deal struck in 2008 with one of Africa's poorest countries was described as winning the "jackpot". 

He paid around $160m for the exploration and mining rights, then sold half of them to Vale, the Brazilian multinational mining company, for $2.5bn.   

Steinmetz started out as a diamond trader in Antwerp, founded SDG (Steinmetz Diamonds Group) with his brother Daniel, became a major supplier and manufacturer, then diversified into real estate, mining, minerals, financing, oil and gas. 

His personal fortune has been estimated at over $1bn, and at one point he was the richest person in Israel.