Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz will appear in a Geneva court next month to defend himself against corruption and forgery charges in connection with mining contracts in Guinea, his lawyer told Reuters.
Steinmetz was indicted in August 2019 by a Geneva prosecutor who accused him and two aides of paying or having $10 million in bribes paid to one of the wives of former Guinean President Lansana Conte for mining licenses between 2005 and 2010.
"There are two charges, corruption and forgery. Both are categorically contested. The charges have no basis in fact or in law," Marc Bonnant, a prominent Geneva lawyer representing Steinmetz, told Reuters on Friday.