GENEVA (AP) — Lawyers for Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz urged a Swiss appeals court on Monday to throw out testimony from a former first lady of Guinea that contributed to his conviction for corruption.
The case involves an alleged plot, dating to the mid-2000s, in which Steinmetz`s BSGR Group squeezed out a rival for mining rights for vast iron ore deposits in Guinea`s southeastern Simandou region. The case has exposed the shady, complex world of deal-making and the cutthroat competition in the lucrative mining business.
The prosecutor`s office has argued that from 2005 onward, Steinmetz crafted a pact of corruption with Guinean President Lansana Conte, who ruled the West African country from 1984 until his death in 2008, and with Mamadie Toure, his fourth wife, involving the payment of nearly $10 million.
Appearing before a Geneva appeals court on Monday, Steinmetz`s lawyer, Daniel Kinzer, said the terms and circumstances of a deal between Toure and the FBI in the United States were unclear and defense lawyers never had a chance to question her — depriving Steinmetz of the chance for a fair trial and the right to cross-examine her. He said Swiss prosecutors had "deliberately" barred the defense team from pretrial questioning in the United States, where Toure resides. She has reached an agreement with the US authorities on this matter.
Touré did not appear at the first trial in January last year. Ultimately, Steinmetz was sentenced to her five years in prison and her fine of 50 million Swiss francs ($51.5 million). His two other defendants had their sentences commuted. "It's easier to falsely accuse the defendant when you don't have to see the defendant," Kinser told the court.
He said a "face-to-face confrontation" was necessary under both Swiss law and the European Court of Human Rights judgment.
However, Geneva prosecutor Yves Bertossa countered that such accounts were permissible but should be used "with a certain degree of caution". stating that it is an "extraordinary" proposal of possible "alliance", and other evidence such as written contracts, bank statements and wiretapping is sufficient to support it Said... Belief.
Steinmetz, 66, has denied the allegations and is on the run pending appeal. If the conviction is upheld, his attorneys can appeal to federal court. He appeared in court on Monday, listening intently and sometimes writing notes to pass on to the legal team. He was not expected to be questioned until this weekend.
The appeal is expected to last until September. 7.
Proponents of Israeli tycoons argued that the lower court did not fully understand the facts of the case, and the court ruled that Switzerland, which has a long-standing reputation for clandestine financial dealings, could take responsibility if necessary. I wanted to show an example that it is possible to become the king of finance.
After the ruling, Swiss transparency group Public Eye hailed a "pioneering ruling" that showed the courts saw through "smarter" legal defenses.
Prosecutors said BSGR obtained an exploration and mining license in his Simandou area of Guinea between 2006 and 2010, while its competitor, the British-Australian mining group Rio Tinto, , said he had been stripped of mineral rights to two of his sites in the area.
Steinmetz's defense team says the region's mountains are home to some of the world's largest undeveloped iron ore deposits, and the standoff robs poor countries of any hope of harvesting them. It offers a unique windfall. They say BSGR was the first company to explore the potential for iron ore mining in the area.
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