Beny Steinmetz

Diamond tycoon Beny Steinmetz is owner of BSGR, an embattled mining company with a presence in Guinea and Sierra Leone.

BSGR is under investigation in several countries, including the U.S. for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company denies the claims.

In 2010, BSGR sold 51% of its mining rights in Guinea to Brazil's multinational Vale for $2.5 billion. As of 2016 it had only collected $500 million.

In 2019, a U.K. court ordered BSGR to pay Brazilian miner Vale $1.25 billion for making fraudulent misrepresentations about a joint venture in Guinea.

After determining that BSGR had obtained rights to Guinean iron mines illegally, in 2014 the Guinean government denied BSGR access to mines there.

In April 2017, he sued billionaire George Soros for $10 billion, accusing Soros of perpetrating a smear campaign. Soros denies the allegations.