Beny Steinmetz

The event was sponsored by FTI Consulting which spent several years as the public relations firm for Israeli mining magnate Beny Steinmetz now wanted in seven different jurisdictions on corruption charges relating to his mining business in Guinea (AC Vol 57 No 8 Africa probes the Panama connection)...

Rio acquired the project in 1997 but saw its rights to the northern half of Simandou confiscated by the Guinean government and handed in 2008 to Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR) the mining arm of the Israeli billionaire's empire following criticism from the late President Lansana Conté about the lack of activity in exploiting its estimated $50 million potential...

Condé previously conducted sweeping reviews of mining contracts awarded before he came to office which resulted in the stripping of the Simandou North licence from Vale-Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (VBG) a joint venture company run by Israeli diamond billionaire Beny Steinmetz and Brazilian mining giant Vale...

At the time Simandou was being developed by Rio Tinto and Vale-Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR; the joint venture was called VBG)...

It will cover transactions between the biggest diamond mine Koidu Holdings which is owned by Octéa Group a subsidiary of the Guernsey-based Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR) and Standard Chartered Bank and Tiffany Diamonds (AC Vol 57 No 7 What price recovery...

Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz is an advisor to Octéa's parent company BSGR but insist he has no executive role in the business...

' Independently of the Mossack Fonseca leak AC has obtained other documents that suggest there is a wide discrepancy between the price per carat of diamonds valued in Sierra Leone (at the central bank in Freetown) and the price per carat when they are sold on through a chain of companies owned directly or indirectly by companies whose owners are related to Beny Steinmetz...

Leaked emails referred to in the Panama Papers investigation reveal that Beny Steinmetz retained power of attorney in Diacor International until it was revoked in June 2015...

Penford (Israel) is part of Diacor International the Steinmetz company which works with De Beers and Sotheby's and for which in 2015 Beny Steinmetz retrospectively gave up power of attorney backdating it to 2013...

a diamond sales and marketing agent founded by Patrick Saada who was previously chairman of Koidu Holdings director at Octéa Diamonds and is also Beny Steinmetz's brother-in-law...

Gem exports upAlso looking up are exports from Koidu diamond mine which has been the subject of intense wrangling between owner Octéa Limited a debt-laden subsidiary of Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR) and the government over fears for the mine's longer-term future (AC Vol 56 No 24 Stalemate over Koidu diamonds as economy sinks)...

The sale of Simandou's two southern blocks stripped from Vale-Beny Steinmetz Group (VBG) was launched in 2014 but failed to materialise into solid bids as the Ebola epidemic paralysed the country and both established and potential foreign investors left en masse...

VBG is the joint venture company set up by Beny Steinmetz and Brazilian mining major Vale in 2014 after a Guinean government investigation found that Steinmetz had acquired the concession by illegal means (AC Vol 56 No 5 A dream deferred)...

At the same time Standard Chartered is the biggest lender to Octéa a wholly-owned subsidiary of Beny Steinmetz Group Resources...

A ten-strong team led by Mines Minister Minkailu Mansaray is in London for crisis talks set for 16 November on the future of the Koidu diamond mine which is currently owned by Octéa Limited a debt-laden subsidiary of the Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz's BSG Resources (BSGR)...

For Beny Steinmetz's mining operations the Condé victory is extremely bad news given the level of personal antipathy between the two men (AC Vol 56 No 20 Condé's shadowy foes)...