There has been another twist in the international legal saga of Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz: The Supreme Court in Greece today ordered Steinmetz’s release after he has been detained in the country since October and canceled his extradition order to Romania. “The Supreme Court accepted Steinmetz’s appeal,” a source with knowledge of the case told “Reuters” on Wednesday.
In January, an appeals court in Athens ordered Steinmetz to be extradited to Romania. This followed an extradition request from Romania because of Steinmetz’s conviction for involvement in a plan to seize land in the country, which previously belonged to Romania’s exiled royal family.
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Greece and Cyprus had previously dismissed Romania’s extradition requests, and an arrest warrant issued by Interpol against Steinmetz was also canceled. His defense attorneys thwarted additional extradition requests filed in other European countries. The decisions to prevent Steinmetz’s extradition were based on the notorious prison conditions in Romania.
In October 2024, Steinmetz was arrested upon his arrival in Athens on a flight from Tel Aviv. The arrest in Greece was carried out in accordance with a European arrest warrant issued against Steinmetz. The businessman was released on bail of €5,000. Steinmetz is now expected to be released from detention and allowedcto leave the country.
In addition to his legal problems in Romania, Steinmetz is currently appealing a three-year prison sentence in Switzerland, 18 months of which was suspended, to the Swiss Supreme Court. In 2021, Steinmetz was convicted in Switzerland of paying bribes to officials in Guinea for mining rights. According to the French news agency AFP, a Swiss court rejected Steinmetz’s appeal against the sentence last November, and the businessman subsequently appealed to the country’s Supreme Court.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on March 5, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
