The appeal trial of the Franco-Israeli billionaire opens on 29 August 2022 in Geneva. Beny Steinmetz is being prosecuted for bribery of foreign public officials in the Simandou case, the world's largest undeveloped iron deposit. He was sentenced in the first instance in January 2022 to five years in prison and a fine of 50 million Swiss francs.

Bribes paid to the entourage of the late President Conté

Beny Steinmetz, through his company Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR), obtained a license to operate the Simandou iron mine in southern Guinea in 2008. Except that in the eyes of the Swiss justice system, the acquisition of this mining permit was facilitated by bribes. The tycoon is said to have paid several million dollars to relatives of former Guinean president Lansana Conté, including his fourth wife Mamadie Touré. In July 2008, Beny Steinmetz was awarded the mining permit for Simandou Blocks 1 and 2 against all odds. These two blocks were held by the Anglo-Australian company, Rio-Tinto.

When he came to power in 2010, Alpha Condé became interested in the case. In 2013, the Guinean leader succeeded in removing the two blocks from the hands of Beny steinmetz, creating a veritable legal soap opera that lasted for years. On 18 May 2022, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled in favor of the Guinean state. According to the ICSID decision, BSGR acquired Simandou Blocks 1 and 2 through a vast network of corruption organized across several continents. At the trial, Beny Steinmetz maintained his innocence, and stated he had obtained his Simandou mining rights legally and under complex circumstances.