A Cyprus court has ruled to extradite Israeli mining entrepreneur Beny Steinmetz to Romania, where he has been sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring with the grandson of the former king and others to corruptly obtain former royal lands worth over US$100 million.
Steinmetz’s representatives said they would appeal the Wednesday ruling at Cyprus’ Supreme Court.
A judge ordered the 67-year-old be held in custody until his extradition or the filing of an appeal, citing a flight risk.
Steinmetz was arrested by Cypriot police on August 31, on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant issued by Romania following his December 2020 conviction for forming “an organized criminal group.”
Over ten days of hearings, Steinmez’s legal team argued that his right to a fair trial in Romania had been violated due to the alleged illegal use of wiretap material, and that one of the supreme court justices had never taken her oath of office.
Steinmetz’s lawyers also accused the Romanian judges of anti-Semitism, and argued that extradition would breach his human rights, due to inhumane prison conditions in Romania. The businessman has denied allegations against him.
Romania’s justice ministry said on Wednesday that it had provided guarantees that prison conditions in the country complied with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Israeli diamond tycoon arrested in Cyprus over corruption conviction in Romania
