Israeli diamond magnate Benny Steinmetz detained at Athens airport

Israeli tycoon Steinmetz was detained at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens after arriving on a private flight from Tel Aviv.

This happened at the request of the Romanian authorities, who accuse the foreigner of participating in a criminal organization and illegally acquiring land that previously belonged to the Romanian royal family. Despite the fact that the Greek court had previously refused his extradition to RomaniaSteinmetz was detained while going through passport control.

After his arrest, he was released on bail in the amount of 5,000 euros with the condition of a ban on leaving the country. His lawyer saidwhat this solution is violation of Steinmetz's rightssince the Greek court has already ruled that his extradition to Romania is impossible.

As you know, Steinmetz was sentenced to five years in prison in Romania on charges of conspiracy with the grandson of the former king. The case involves the purchase of vast lands formerly owned by the Romanian royal family, worth $100 million, which is said to have been done illegally. A European arrest warrant has been issued against Steinmetz. Let us remind you that a year ago, the businessman was also arrested in Cyprus on the basis of the same warrant, but was released on bail.

According to the relevant decision of the Athens Court of Appeal in the spring of 2022, which came to ratify the Interpol decision against the Romanian authorities, many violations of the rights of Mr. Beny Steinmetz were revealed. The court also determined the motive for his persecution by the Romanian authorities as “political.”

Thus, Mr. Steinmetz was granted the right to travel freely and without restrictions, so as not to be subjected to conduct offensive to his person and discrediting his business reputation, such as the incident that occurred on the evening of 10/13/24 when he was detained by the authorities at Athens International Airport.

It is noted that the extradition warrant issued by Romanian authorities for Benny Steinmetz is invalidated by Interpol, Greece, Italy and Cyprus. The same thing happened with other defendants in the same case, whose arrest warrants are not recognized by France, Belgium and Malta. Thus six European countries rejected the legally unfounded claims of Romanian justice in this case. That's why Benny Steinmetz was released pending formal settlement of the matter.

Benny Steinmetz is a French-Israeli diamond magnate known for his large investments in the mining industry. He has been at the center of several legal disputes in recent years. In January 2021, a Swiss court sentenced him to five years in prison for corruption related to obtaining mining rights in Guinea. Steinmetz is appealing the verdict.

Israeli authorities recently dropped money laundering charges against him, reaching an agreement to pay 17 million shekels (about $4.8 million) as part of a civil settlement.

2022 video

Source link