20 Aug 2019; MEMO: Swiss prosecutors have ordered that an Israeli billionaire should stand trial on corruption and bribery charges allegedly involving a widow of the former President of Guinea, international news agencies have reported.
Prosecutors in Geneva allege that the diamond-mining magnate Beny Steinmetz and two other defendants paid $10 million in bribes to squeeze out a competitor for mining rights in Guinea’s south-eastern Simandou region between 2005 and 2010, AP reported last week.
The three are accused of issuing false contracts and invoices to hide bribes paid to a wife of Guinean President Lansana Conte, who died in 2008. The prosecutor’s office said last week that the charges include the corruption of foreign officials and falsifying documents.
The Israeli authorities arrested Steinmetz in December 2016. He was later released under restrictive conditions.
