Beny Steinmetz to appeal Swiss court’s corruption ruling – statement

GENEVA (Reuters) – Mining magnate Beny Steinmetz said he would appeal against a guilty verdict for corruption upheld by a Swiss appeals court on Tuesday, saying the decision was “unfair and politically motivated”.

The Geneva court upheld a guilty verdict for corruption made by a lower court in 2021. But it acquitted him of forgery and reduced his sentence to three years’ imprisonment of which 18 months must be served.

“Beny Steinmetz considers that the Geneva justice system turned a blind eye to procedural flaws, stretched the rules of jurisdiction, compensated for the lack of evidence, and misused the penal code to save a conviction that it did not dare to dismiss,” he said in a statement.

(Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Louise Heavens)