The Swiss police recently raided the residence of Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz in Geneva as part of an ongoing investigation into the businessman's mining activity overseas.
According to Bloomberg News, which cited a "person familiar with the matter," the Geneva public prosecution ordered the search at the request of the Republic of Guinea and it was carried out over the last two weeks. The person said the investigation was confidential and that no documents had been seized.
BSG Resources Ltd., Steinmetz's mining company, has comes under scrutiny in Guinea, where it operates many iron mines. According to Bloomberg, the government is currently conducting a review of the permits it issued the company. In April, a U.S. grand jury launched an investigation to determine whether the company had bribed Guinean officials in order to get the necessary mining licenses.
Steinmetz's personal wealth is estimated at $7.4 billion, making him Israel's richest man. Born to a family of diamond dealers in Netanya, he later moved to Belgium, where he made his own fortune. He then decided to expand his activity to other natural resources.
Steinmetz took the unusual step of commenting on the investigation on Thursday. BSGR posted a statement on its website, saying that "the ongoing smear campaign against BSGR, the international natural resources and energy company, organized on behalf of President Alpha Conde and the government of Guinea by George Soros and his various NGOs, including Global Witness, has now been extended to Beny Steinmetz who is one of the beneficiaries of the foundation which owns BSGR."
"In Conakry, the capital of Guinea, two local employees of BSGR have been detained without charge for five months," the statement went on to say. "In an attempt to justify their continued illegal detention, the government of Guinea has sent direct requests to the Swiss authorities to collect information on its behalf. The government of Guinea's actions are linked to its ongoing attempts to expropriate illegally mining rights belonging to BSGR at Simandou in southeastern Guinea."
According to Marc Bonnant, Steinmetz's lawyer, "The Swiss authorities received a request from the Conakry Court of First Instance to collect information on behalf of the government of Guinea. This is a cooperative, intergovernmental measure that is entirely standard procedure. Steinmetz offered to collaborate with the Swiss authorities, is cooperating fully, and is very happy to do so."