Swiss police have raided the Geneva home of Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz, reports "Bloomberg" according to a person familiar with the matter.
The raid, which took place earlier this month, was reportedly ordered by Geneva’s public prosecutor following a request by the Guinea government. No documents were taken away, the source said.
Steinmetz, 57, has a net worth of $7.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. BSG Resources Ltd., his mining company, owns a 51% stake in the Simandou iron ore deposit in Guinea. The West African country is reviewing mining licenses including Simandou’s. In April, a US grand jury investigation began into claims that bribes were paid by BSG Resources for mining rights in Guinea.
Geneva prosecutor's office spokesman Henri Della Casa declined to comment on the raid. No one answered the phone at the public relations offices of the Geneva police when contacted by "Bloomberg." Ian Middleton, a spokesman for BSG Resources in London, also declined to comment.
"Boomberg" added that Geneva’s public prosecutor said last month that it had opened an investigation into Onyx Financial Advisors UK at the request of Guinea. Swiss police last month raided the Geneva offices of Onyx, a London-based company whose chief executive officer, Dag Cramer, is a director of BSG Resources.
Onyx “provided the Swiss authorities with information following a request to Switzerland by the Guinea government,” it was said in an August 29 statement.
Frederic Cilins, a French citizen who says he has worked for BSG Resources in Guinea, was denied bail in July while awaiting trial on charges he interfered with the US grand jury probe. He is charged with witness tampering, obstructing a criminal investigation and destruction of evidence in a federal investigation. The witness-tampering and record-destruction charges carry maximum prison terms of 20 years. Cilins said he was arrested after trying to stop an extortion attempt by the government’s main witness. He has pleaded not guilty.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 12, 2013
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