Second Israeli arrested in massive Africa bribery scandal

A second Israeli man was arrested Tuesday as part of a corruption probe involving dealings in the African nation of Guinea, police said.

Asher Avidan’s arrest was connected to Monday’s arrest of diamond and mining magnate Beny Steinmetz, who is accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes in the Republic of Guinea in exchange for advancing his business interests in the country. Steinmetz was questioned Monday by the Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit, and police searched his home and office. He was later released to house arrest for two weeks under restrictive conditions.

Avidan, a top executive in Steinmetz’s company, BGSR, was detained by the Israel Police on Tuesday as part of the investigation, spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.

He was released to two weeks’ house arrest under restrictive conditions by the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court.

A wide-ranging investigation involving tens of millions of dollars is being carried out jointly by the national police unit for crimes and investigations and agencies from US, Switzerland, the Republic of Guinea and Israel in coordination with the OECD.

Steinmetz controls mining firm BSG Resources. He is suspected of involvement in bribery of a foreign public employee and money laundering, according to Israeli police.

The case revolves around BSGR’s purchase of an iron ore mine in Guinea, for which it allegedly shelled out $165 million in exploration costs, and sold half of it several years later for $2.5 billion.

According to allegations, BSGR won the concession for the mineral-rich Simandou range after cultivating a close relationship with then-Guinea president Lansana Conté, who died in 2008.

One of Conte’s wives, Mamadie Toure, has been cooperating with an FBI investigation into allegations that Steinmetz bribed Conte through her. In 2014, former BSGR adviser Frederic Cilins was sentenced to two years in prison in the US for trying to convince Toure to destroy evidence.

In December 2011 it was reported that Steinmetz was accused of involvement in a 136 million euro corruption investigation. Judicial sources in Bucharest had said they believed Steinmetz, as well as the Israeli political consultant Tal Ziberstein, conspired with the Romanian businessman Remus Truica to illicitly bring about the transfer of state-held lands to another Romanian citizen that allegedly cost the state nearly $150 million, the Romania Libera daily reported at the time.