Beny Steinmetz loses latest battle against Vale over Simandou
Billionaire Beny Steinmetz, the founder and owner of a company embroiled in a long-drawn-out dispute with Vale (NYSE: VALE) over lost rights to the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, has lost his latest battle against the Brazilian miner.
The Rio de Janeiro-based miner said on Monday that local
prosecutors had closed an investigation into CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo, and other
executives and former directors over alleged illegal practices related to the
deal to explore the deposit.
At two billion tonnes of iron ore with some of the highest
grades in the industry, Simandou is one of the world’s biggest and richest
reserves of the steelmaking material.
Prosecutors had launched a probe in March based on documents
supplied by Steinmetz, but concluded the billionaire’s accusations were
“disturbingly unspecific.” They also said the documents presented did not
“contain elements that even in theory indicate the occurrence of a crime of
active corruption or international influence peddling.”
Vale said the Federal Public Prosecutor’s verdict supported
the company’s position, adding that it remained confident that Brazilian
authorities will acknowledge that “the clear purpose of Mr. Steinmetz is to
divert the focus from the obligation to indemnify Vale for $2 billion, in
accordance with arbitral award and court decisions that were unfavorable to him
in England and the United States.”
Vale originally told MINING[dot]COM that it was unaware of
any investigation being carried out in Brazil.
“Vale wants to confuse its creditors and lead them to the
false perception that the investigation opened by the State Prosecutors’ of Rio
de Janeiro a few days ago, which also involves facts concerning Simandou, would
have been dropped. That is not true,” said Steinmetz on a press release.
More than that, Vale wants to transform a decision issued by
a single federal prosecutor with precarious effectiveness into a fully
effective decision. The truth is that the State Prosecutors’ Office continues
to investigate the facts that I reported. And, the Federal Prosecutors’ Office,
for which I had provided evidence and information, has not definitively given
up on doing so.”
Decade-long clashes
The case goes back to 2010, when Vale agreed to buy 51% of
the iron ore licenses belonging to BSG Resources (BSGR), owned by Steinmetz.
Four years later, Guinea revoked both the Rio de
Janeiro-based miner’s and BSGR’s rights over Simandou.
The decision followed a government probe that concluded they
obtained their licenses through corruption, allegations that Steinmetz and BSGR
have always denied.
Vale then filed a successful claim against its former
partner company in the London Court of International Arbitration to recover an
upfront payment to BSGR and money it invested in Guinea.
The figure requested and later awarded by a London
arbitration court amounted to $1.25 billion plus interest and costs, totalling
$2 billion.
Steinmetz was found guilty of bribing a public official to
secure the deal and sentenced to five years in a Geneva court in January. He
remains free.
Comments
Post a Comment