Office of State Attorney in Israel drops all criminal charges against businessman Beny Steinmetz

A decision by the Office of the State Attorney in Tel-Aviv marks the end of a judicial process against businessman Beny Steinmetz, with Israeli authorities permanently dropping a criminal investigation against the well-known entrepreneur.

The decision by the Tel Aviv prosecutor’s office ends the criminal investigation before any judicial hearing even took place, fully clearing Steinmetz.

The withdrawal of a massive lawsuit at the London high court by the multinational Vale mining group, which had demanding 1.2 billion USD in a personal claim against Steinmetz, had preceded the decision.

The legal battle between Beny Steinmetz and Vale, a Brazilian mining giant, unceremoniously ended slightly before the 11-week trial reached its halfway mark. The trial revolved around Vale’s claims of bribery.

Specifically, on Feb. 14, 2022, attorneys for Vale withdrew all of the allegations made against Steinmetz at the high court in London, resulting in Justice Andrew Baker dismissing the charges.

A pivotal development was also an agreement worked out with the government in Guinea, as the businessman’s alleged participation in a case of bribery to win the mining concession for an iron ore deposit in the West African country marked the beginning of subsequent legal proceedings in a handful of countries.

Steinmetz himself has strenuously maintained that he has become a target of powerful financial and political interests.

Beny Steinmetz emerged on Greece’s national limelight roughly a year ago, when he found himself “stranded” in the east Mediterranean country due to an extradition warrant issued by Romanian authorities.

In this instance as well, the judicial ruling in Greece was in favor of Steinmetz, as the extradition request was rejected by a council of Athens appellate justices, with the reasoning being that the Romanian side violated his right to a fair trial.

A Greek court last March rejected the Romanian request, basing its decision on two main reasons:

1.    The first was, as already cited, that the businessman’s right to a fair trial in Romania was violated.

2.    Due to a real risk that he would endure biased, inhuman and degrading treatment if extradited.

In essence, the judicial ruling confirmed a decision by Interpol against the Romanian side, with the former citing several violations of his right to a fair trial, as well as to the fact that the prosecution was burdened by “political motivation”.

After the ruling by the council of Athens appellate justices, Steinmetz had issued a statement, underlining that: “…»it is a resounding and clear response from Greece, as an EU member-state, against the practices of politically directed and politically motivated prosecutions, violations of the rule of law and human rights.»

He also added that a conspiracy against him has already begun to collapse, and that the truth will soon shine once and for good, before again expressing his gratitude to the Greek justice system.

What his attorneys say

After the positive developments in Israel for Steinmetz, his attorneys, Nati Simchony and Ronen Rosenblum, stated:

“The decision of the Office of the Israeli State Attorney in Tel Aviv proves yet again that the allegations against Beny Steinmetz are baseless. For more than 10 years he has been at the centre of an international campaign against his reputation and integrity. Today, marks Beny Steinmetz’s vindication in Israel.”

Who is Beny Steinmetz?

Beny Steinmetz was born in 1956 in Netanya, Israel. He is the fourth child of Rubin Steinmetz, who founded a highly successful company active in the diamond trade.

According to the London daily «Guardian», at the age of 21, and after completing his military service in Israel, Steinmetz left for Antwerp, Belgium, where he worked for a well-known gem dealer. He then teamed up with his brother Daniel to create their namesake company, Steinmetz Diamonds Group, and then the Beny Steinmetz Group.

He met his wife Agnes when he was a teenager and together they have four children. The Steinmetz couple has also founded a charitable organization with the aim of providing assistance – mainly education and welfare – to young people in need.

In 1988 Steinmetz purchased his first and biggest plant, in South Africa, while expanding activities to other sectors, such as the mining of raw materials, real estate and capital markets.

BSG Resources (BSGR), in which he had an advisory role, invested in, operated, purchased and directly sold numerous large-scale mining and metals operations.

In 2000, BSGR acquired a 20-percent stake in the Kumba iron ore company, which was later sold to Anglo American. He then acquired Bateman, which specializes in the design and construction of mining and metallurgical projects, and developed the Octea Diamond group, which secured an agreement with Tiffany & Co.

BSGR’s activity did not cease there, as it delved into participation in a diamond mining project, a steel factory and other listed mining companies.

Steinmetz has expanded into real estate, achieving partnerships with Deutsche Bank Real Estate, Apollo Global Management and Chelsfield.