Mining mogul Beny Steinmetz arrested in Cyprus on Romanian warrant

French-Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz (L) arrives with his lawyers for his trial in Geneva on January 11, 2020. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)
French-Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz (L) arrives with his lawyers for his trial in Geneva on January 11, 2020. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

Israeli mining tycoon Beny Steinmetz has been arrested in Cyprus, according to Israeli media reports.

Steinmetz has been wanted in Romania since 2020, when he and political adviser Tal Silberstein were both sentenced in absentia to five years in jail for “the creation of an organized criminal group” in a property-related case that dates back to 2006-2008 and cost the Romanian government $145 million.

The arrest comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the island state for a tripartite meeting with Greece.

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