Steinmetz to Face Court in Cyprus
September 12, 23
(IDEX Online) - Mining and diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz is due to re-appear before a court in Cyprus on Thursday (14 September) after he was detained on an arrest warrant issued by Romania.
He was convicted, in his absence, of a $152m land deal fraud by a court there and sentenced to a five-year jail term in December 2020.
Steinmetz, 65, (pictured) a French-Israeli citizen, was detained at Larnaca airport earlier this month and was subsequently released on conditional bail.
A spokesman for Steinmetz said Greece, Italy and Interpol had all concluded, on previous occasions that the arrest warrant was not enforceable.
"He remains confident that the Justice of Cyprus will realize that the European Arrest Warrant should not have been executed, due to the significant flaws presented in the legal process followed in Romania," the spokesperson said.
Steinmetz was accused of being involved in corrupt enterprise to recover land that had been nationalized by the government before the collapse of communism in Romania in 1989.
The Supreme Court ruled that he and Israeli media consultant Tal Silberstein had collaborated with a Romanian businessman and with Prince Paul-Philippe, grandson of the country's former king.
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.