Steinmetz trial: the largest corruption case in the mining sector goes to court in Geneva

Mining magnate Beny Steinmetz will finally have to respond to the charges against him in court, seven years after the case was opened. According to Geneva’s public prosecutor, from 2005 onwards, the businessman engaged in a “corrupt pact” with former president of Guinea Lansana Conté, who was in power from 1984 to 2008, and his fourth wife Mamadie Touré. At least USD 8.5 million were transferred to Touré – partly through Swiss bank accounts. The aim was to oust a competitor (Rio Tinto) and guarantee that Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR) would obtain the concessions for one of the largest reserves of iron-ore in the world, the Simandou mine, in 2008. The “deal of the century” (Sunday Times) ensured BSGR a profit totalling approximately twice the size of the Guinea state budget at the time*.

Beny Steinmetz used opaque structures to hide these allegedly corrupt schemes. These were notably orchestrated from Geneva, via a consulting company called Onyx Financial Advisors, whose former director is also in the dock. For her “assistance”, Touré was not paid directly by BSGR, but by a seemingly independent company called Pentler Holding Ltd, domiciled in the British Virgin Islands. In reality, however, Pentler is managed by BSRG via a network of offshore structures. Back in 2013, Public Eye had already mapped the complex web spun by Beny Steinmetz from Geneva, where he resided until 2016. The businessman has always denied the corruption accusations and his lawyer Marc Bonnant will plead not guilty.