Beny Steinmetz was named Monday as the Israeli businessman suspected of bribing former Guinean President Lansana Conte for rights to mine iron ore in the west African country. Steinmetz was arrested after an undercover investigation. He was remanded to house arrest and made to post a 100 million shekel ($25.9 million) bail. Police coordinated with foreign authorities to conduct the investigation into Steinmetz and other suspects. The Steinmetz is suspected of paying tens of millions of dollars to Conte and his wife through Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR), for which Steinmetz received rights to mine iron in Guinea, earning hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. He is also suspected of money laundering. The crimes were committed between 2012 and 2016. Despite being one of the richest Israelis in the world, billionaire businessman Beny Steinmetz, 60, insists on keeping a low media profile. Born in Netanya to a family of diamond dealers, his fortune is estimated by Forbes magazine to be $1.34 billion. Forbes ranks him the 1,694th richest person in the world and 15th richest in Israel. Steinmetz made his fortune in diamonds, later expanding to mining and real estate. Records in his companies show a "trim" in public pension funds via Scorpio, a company which invested in unsuccessful ventures in eastern Europe and other areas. Steinmetz moved to Belgium after his military service and continued his father's diamond business. He sold his shares in the family diamond company to his brother. Today his business empire is centered around BSGR, a company with significant presence in African countries. Steinmetz will remain under house arrest for two weeks. In addition to the bail, he is prohibited from communicating with others involved in the case and from entering his office for 30 days. Other suspects are expected to be questioned. Yuval Sasson, Steinmetz's attorney, said the claims were "a recycling of an old process led by the government of Guinea ... in order to illegally expropriate BSGR's mining rights. These are continuous and baseless attempts meant to conceal the corruption aimed at illegally expropriating assets."
"We are cooperating and are sure of our innocence," he said.
Billionaire Beny Steinmetz implicated in global corruption case
Israeli businessman suspected of bribing former Guinean president, earning hundreds of millions of dollars from African iron mining operations • Suspect posted bail of over $25 million • Attorney: "We are cooperating and are sure of our innocence."
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