Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz was arrested in Larnaca, Cyprus last Thursday following an EU warrant for his arrest issued by the Romanian authorities. The warrant was issued after Steinmetz after Steinmetz was sentenced to five years imprisonment in Romania in December 2020 after being found guilty of real estate fraud in one of the country's biggest ever corruption affairs.
Steinmetz has also been sentenced to 18 months in prison in Switzerland after being convicted of bribing the former President of Guinea. In April, a Swiss court dismissed most claims in an appeal by Steinmetz but reduced the sentence from three years.
Following Stenmetz's conviction in 2020, the Romanian authorities issued a red notice via Interpol, asking for him to be detained anywhere on EU territory. Later, the arrest warrant was canceled due to the manner of the proceedings in Romania, which were politically motivated according to an Interpol report. In addition, a European arrest warrant was also issued. In December 2021, Steinmetz was arrested in Greece based on this warrant, but the authorities in Greece rejected the request by the Romanian authorities in Romania to extradite him due to the violation of due process in Romania.
The affair in Romania dealt with a commercial deal, in 2006-2008 involving the restitution of lands nationalized during the communist period and attempts to recover royal property of Prince Paul Philippe (a descendant of the royal family), which was nationalized by the state. After the fall of the communist regime in Romania, the door was opened for those who were private land owners in the 1940s to demand the return of the land to their possession. Steinmetz was a partner and advised a body that held shares in a company that purchased rights to land from a prince of the Romanian royal house and was accused of committing fraud as part of the activities of the company in order to return the land. The legal proceedings which were conducted in the Court of Appeals in Bucharest, ended with full acquittal of Steinmetz. But he was found guilty in the appeal.
The affair in Switzerland dealt with bribing foreign officials. Steinmetz and others were convicted of paying $8.5 million dollars to people close to Guinea's President Lansana Konte, to obtain a mining license in a large iron ore mine - one of the largest in the world - located in Simandou. Steinmetz's company BSGR, which was registered in Geneva, was found to have acted illegally when it transferred bribe money to the President of Guinea, Lansana Conte, and to his fourth wife MamadieToure, in exchange for receiving the rights to the mine.
Steinmetz's response: We are certain that justice will prevail in Cyprus
A spokesperson on behalf of Steinmetz said that the warrant had already been canceled in some European countries including Greece and Italy and "The appeals committee in Athens in Greece dismissed the request in March 2022 by the Romanian authorities to extradite Beny Steinmetz due to the violation of his right to a fair trial in Romania, as well as the real risk of being subjected to discriminatory, inhumane and humiliating treatment if extradited. In doing so, the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was clearly annulled by the Greek judge. In addition, also in Italy, the Italian authorities decided that the EAW should not be implemented in Italy, for the same reasons.
"It should also be noted that Interpol canceled its red notice, thereby canceling the international arrest warrant issued by the Romanians against Mr. Steinmetz, after identifying a series of human rights violations, as well as a violation of his fundamental right to a fair trial in Romania. In the relevant report issued by Interpol, it is clearly stated that the prosecution of Mr. Steinmetz was politically motivated.
"Mr. Steinmetz welcomes the opportunity to be acquitted in another European country, in the proceedings against Romania, a country notorious for its lack of respect for human rights. Steinmetz is confident that justice will prevail in Cyprus as well, and will confirm that the strong foundations of the EU's moral and legal system will prevail against undemocratic practices such as those of the Romanian authorities."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 3, 2023.
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