Israeli diamond tycoon arrested over bribery allegations in Africa

Israeli diamond tycoon, Beny Steinmetz, was arrested Monday by the police for questioning over allegations of bribery and corruption related to diamond mining in Guinea, Israeli authorities said.

In the morning, BSG Resources, the mining company founded by Steinmetz, confirmed that the businessman was detained by Israeli authorities.

The company said in a statement that the allegations are baseless. "This development is in the aftermath of ongoing and what BSGR believes to be obsolete investigations surrounding bribery and corruption against BSGR," the statement read.

In the afternoon, a court notice said that Steinmetz was sent to two weeks of house arrest on bail of 50 million shekels (about 13 million U.S. dollars) in cash and additional 50 million shekels in collateral.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the businessman is allegedly involved in a large-scale bribery of foreign public servants in Africa and money laundering.

Samri said that the police suspect that Steinitz and other Israeli businessmen living abroad paid "tens of millions of dollars to senior public servants in Guinea in order to advance their business affairs there."

The investigation efforts involved law enforcement authorities in the United States, Switzerland, and Guinea.

Samri said it is "part of an international effort led by the OECD to struggle against the bribery of high-ranking officials worldwide."

Headquartered in the tax haven of the Channel Islands, BSG Resources mines diamonds, gold, copper, and other minerals in Africa. The company was founded in 1998.

source: Xinhua