FT: the successor of the Greek Prime Minister is accused of having connections with a famous entrepreneur accused of fraud

A Financial Times article suggests involvement niece of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis Alexia Bakoyanni to the case of the acquisition of Italy’s largest oil refinery by businessman Benny Steinmetz, convicted in two countries of corruption and bribery.

He is a 67-year-old Israeli billionaire who was sentenced in 2020 by Romanian authorities to five years in prison in a corruption case, which resulted in a European arrest warrant being issued against him, which was executed in Cyprus. However, his extradition did not take place due to the decision of the country’s Supreme Court. Italy and Greece refused to comply with the order. However, in Greece he was arrested at El.Venizelos airport because Interpol had issued a red notice. Steinmetz was sentenced for a second time in 2021 by a Swiss court for bribery.

If the publication is true, then this could explain the surveillance of Alexia Bakoyannis from the outside ΕΥΠ via Predatorwhich became known last year (it’s not clear why Alexia’s uncle gave this order?).

The author of the Financial Times article writes that Steinmetz’s trips to Rome and Milan in November and December 2022 “accompanied Alexia Bakoyanni, who owns shares in GOI Energy (ed. the company that acquired the Italian refinery), located in Cyprus, in which she was also a member of the board of directors for some time,” that “she helped him in Cyprus as a communications consultant when he tried to cancel his extradition to Romania” and that “the remaining 4% (GOI Energy) is divided between Completicos Holdings, of which Alexia Bakoyanni is a shareholder, and Israeli Izik Gur“.

It must be said that if this is true, then questions arise as to where the prime minister’s niece, who in Greece is known to work in the advertising and communications sector and is the owner of the AIA company, got these funds, but that’s all.

We are talking about a company with a turnover of billions of euros

AIA Relate Alexia Bakoyanni, in addition to collaborating with Benny Steinmetz, who was arrested in December 2022 at El. Venizelos due to a warrant issued by the Romanian authorities, took upon himself contact with a mysterious expatriate from Venezuela, businessman Theodoros Duzoglou, who acquired such iconic objects like “Pendelikon”, “Summer” in Mykonos, etc., to then close them (!), and which is under investigation for “laundering” black money.

Alexia Bakoyanni is also responsible for communication with the Greek Stock Exchange

Let us note that this is a very smart and capable specialist who, undoubtedly, would have achieved professional success if it were not for the daughter of N. Bakoyannis or the niece of K. Mitsotakis.

However, the FT article below actually implies that there is supposedly something behind the purchase and sale in Italy and, perhaps… Russia itself, which, through an unknown Israeli company, is essentially buying out the Italian refinery, since Lukoil’s presence in Italy under the previous regime it is difficult. It must be said that in Greece a large Greek group with ties to Russia is showing interest in Lukoil.

The full text of the Financial Times article reads as follows:

“Israeli businessman Benny Steinmetz, convicted of corruption, was linked to the company chosen by the Italian government to buy the country’s largest oil refinery from the Russian company Lukoil.

Links between the businessman and GOI Energy, the company backed by Trafigura in its bid to take over the refinery, which Rome described as “strategically important”, raise questions.

Steinmetz, who has been convicted of corruption in Switzerland and Romania, traveled to Rome and Milan in November and December 2022 to discuss the 1.5 billion euro offer with lawyers and advisers, according to four sources with knowledge of the meetings.

Steinmetz was accompanied by Alexia Bakoyanni, who, according to three of these sources, is the niece of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who owns shares in the Cypriot company GOI Energy, where she briefly served on the board of directors.

The Steinmetz Family Foundation is also an investor in the Argus New Energy Fund, GOI Energy’s largest shareholder, according to secret documents reviewed by the Italian government to approve the takeover.

The second connection to Steinmetz is GOI Energy CEO Mikhail Bobrov, who owns shares in a Cyprus company and is also a shareholder in an oil refinery owned by Steinmetz’s in-laws in Israel.

The forced takeover of the Sicily-based plant, which has Italy’s fifth-largest refining capacity, came just as the European Union was preparing to impose import bans on Russian-origin petroleum products, which it eventually did last December. Rome then invoked its golden powers, allowing it to veto agreements or impose conditions on the takeover of strategic companies.

Despite concerns raised by the US, the Meloni government approved the sale to GOI Energy, whose offer was higher than that of the US Crossbridge and the Swiss company Vitol. At the time, the Italian government argued that GOI Energy had also offered stronger guarantees regarding jobs and plant operations.

“The ISAB refinery is the most important player in the Italian system, as it processes 30% of oil reserves and 20% of the total volume,” says Kpler analyst Victor Katona. “When the third largest refinery in Europe ends up being sold to a virtually unknown company, this raises questions.” .

In September, Steinmetz was arrested in Cyprus on a European Arrest Warrant issued for him by Romanian authorities, having been sentenced to five years in prison in 2020 for corruption in a real estate fraud case. The 67-year-old businessman was released in November after the Supreme Court of Cyprus overturned a previous decision to extradite him to Romania. He claimed that there were political motives behind his trial and sentence in Romania. Italy and Greece (I wonder why?) also refused to execute the arrest warrant from Bucharest.

The billionaire has another bribery conviction handed down in 2021 by a Swiss court in connection with the acquisition of iron mining properties in Guinea, a case which Steinmetz appealed.

As the scion of a diamond dynasty, Steinmetz expanded his family’s fortune in the late 1980s. BSG Resources operates in 25 countries producing minerals, oil, gas and metals.

GOI Energy, for its part, announced that “an entity that includes members of the Steinmetz family (but not Benny Steinmetz) is a minority investor in the Argus fund, as has been fully disclosed to the Italian audit authorities.” Italian authorities said Steinmetz is not an investor in GOI Energy.

The billionaire’s sons-in-law, Ohad and Ender Schwartz, jointly own the Israeli company Green Oil Israel, which operates the Bazan oil refinery in Haifa Bay in northern Israel. Bobrov also owns a 50% stake in the Bazan oil refinery, according to official documents.

In response to a question, Italy’s Ministry of Industry said the “golden powers” exist to ensure energy security, adding that “an in-depth investigation has been carried out into the financiers/investors involved, as well as the links between Green Oil Ltd… and members of the Steinmetz family “.

Alexia Bacoyanni assisted Steinmetz in Cyprus as a public affairs adviser as he tried to overturn his extradition to Romania, according to announcements made at the time about the proceedings. GOI Energy said that “any questions regarding Steinmetz’s meetings in Italy with the company’s lawyers in December 2022 should be directed to Mr. Steinmetz,” adding that he “does not represent GOI Energy in any way.”

A spokesman for Steinmetz in Israel, when asked about Ms. Bakoyanni, had no comment. Italian officials said Rome’s main goal was to ensure that no Russian investors were secretly involved in the refinery’s construction. Italy was satisfied that, in accordance with the GOI Energy agreement, the crude oil was handled by Trafigura.

Bobrov previously worked for the company as head of its operations in Israel, but a spokesman declined to comment. An Italian source who reviewed the Cypriot proposal said: “We were satisfied that the Cyprus fund has no links to the Russians and that Steinmetz has a history of running similar companies, as his family and Bobrov own the Bazan oil refinery in Israel.”

Syrian company documents show that 76% of GOI Energy’s shares are owned by the Argus New Energy Fund, whose shareholders appear to be two lawyers from Nicosia. Bobrov owns 20% of the shares.

The remaining 4% is split between Completicos Holdings, whose shareholder is Alexia Bakoyanni, and Izik Gur, an Israeli who is “linked” to Steinmetz in a subpoena filed in a New York court. Gur could not be contacted for comment, the FT notes.

GOI Energy said Bakoyanni, Bobrov and Gur are “independent businessmen with an extensive portfolio of clients, partnerships and collaborations!”

An interesting passage that to some extent explains the unexpected statements last year by Alexia’s mother Dora Bakoyannis and her uncle, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, that Greece is at war with Russia.

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