Filenews 9 September 2023 - by Natasha Christoforou
Franco-Israeli billionaire Benny Steinmetz, who was arrested last week at the airport in Larnaca because a European arrest warrant for fraud in Romania was pending against him, has been released on parole by the Larnaca District Court.
The tycoon, who owns diamond mining and energy industries, among other things, was detained pending the translation of the warrant against him by Romanian authorities. Although the case was set for yesterday, it was finally brought before the Court on Tuesday and the Court decided that the procedure for examining the request for his extradition would begin on September 14.
The businessman was released after posting a €1 million bail with another €300,000 signed by three creditworthy guarantors. In addition, he handed over his travel documents and was ordered to report to a Police Station. His spokesman Benny Steinmetz welcomed the decision of the Cypriot court, expressing the certainty of the businessman that "the justice of Cyprus will realize that the European arrest warrant should not have been executed, due to the significant omissions that occurred in the legal process followed in Romania."
The 67-year-old businessman has been sentenced in absentia to five years in prison by a court in Romania for his participation in a business group that allegedly tried to secure illegal land rights. Romanian authorities ruled that fraud was behind the transaction that cost the country 135 million euros. Benny Steinmetz had been arrested in other European countries such as Italy and Greece, but the courts where he appeared rejected Romania's request for his extradition.
The tycoon has also been sentenced to prison by a court in Switzerland after reports in international media found him guilty of bribery in a case involving obtaining permits to explore iron ore deposits in Guinea. The sentence has not been carried out due to the 67-year-old's intention to appeal his conviction to the country's Supreme Court.
