Dismissing the ruling as politically motivated , the mining tycoon is to make one last attempt to overturn his conviction – at the Swiss federal court, The Swiss appeal court s upholding of a guilty verdict for corruption against mining tycoon Beny Steinmetz nearly ends the decade-long legal fight over Guinea s Simandou iron ore resources, the largest and best quality in the world. Two international consortia are set to produce ore at the site in 2027, some 30 years after the extent of the resources was first identified, according to industry sources and Switzerland s UBS bank.
Dropping earlier arguments that the evidence of corruption was fake, the mining magnate is appealing against his conviction by redefining bribery, Punishing foreign bribery is still a novel idea in Switzerland. There have been just 18 convictions since it became a crime in 2000, before which it was tax-deductible. And the prosecution of Israeli mining magnate Beny Steinmetz is turning out to be a landmark test of Switzerland s judicial system as much for the legal technicalities and the noises off as for the substance.