FBI wiretaps confirm Steinmetz's payments to ex-Guinean president's wife in graft probe

On April 9, a cache of documents purportedly indicating that a wife of a former president of Guinea received payments from billionaire Beny Steinmetz in order to keep a portion of the largest iron-ore deposit in the world. Steinmetz is currently investigation for graft charges, of which the documents said, he approved millions of dollars in illicit payments. Bloomberg said that the 109 pages worth of transcripts were introduced as evidence by the West African nation into whether bribery was involved in order to secure rights to the lucrative Simandou deposit. According to the Guinean government, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had shared the evidence from its own probe into the events that led to Steinmetz securing the licenses.

The news agency said at the center of the probes is an ore-laden mountain located in southern Guinea that had mining companies from Beijing to London and Rio de Janeiro scrambling for licenses. The government committee that has been handling the probe last week has recommended that BSGR Resources Ltd, Steinmetz's company, will be stripped off the asset. Bloomberg also said that Guinean President Alpha Conde will be issuing a final ruling about the recommendation, which would probably put the most-coveted mineral assets back on the market.

In an emailed statement, BSGR has denied all accusations lodged against the company. Part of the email read, "BSGR will prove the allegations raised in Guinea's rigged and illegitimate process are false. President Alpha Conde's determination to steal our mining rights and transfer them to political allies is nothing new."

The transcripts shared by the FBI contained telephone and face-to-face conversations between late President Lansana Conte's fourth wife, Mamadie Toure, and former BSGR agent Frederic Cilins, Bloomberg said. Toure reportedly agreed to wear a wire during her conversations with Cilins, US federal prosecutors have said in court filings.

A federal grand jury in New York has been carrying out an investigation into the Simandou concession for potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Tags

Simandou concession probe, BSGR Resources Ltd, Beny Steinmetz

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