A Virgin Islands-registered company was used by an Israeli mining corporation to pay bribes in exchange for mining rights in Guinea worth billions of dollars, an activist organisation alleged recently.
United States law enforcement authorities are currently investigating the bribery claims.
According to the London-based non-profit Global Witness, the VI-registered firm Pentler Holdings signed contracts with Mamadie Touré, a wife of former Guinean dictator General Lansana Conté.
Under the terms of the contracts, Pentler, which is allegedly an affiliate of the Israeli firm Beny Steinmetz Group Resources, paid “millions of dollars” to Ms. Touré for her assistance in obtaining BSGR the rights to mine iron ore in the impoverished country’s Simandou mountains, Global Witness claimed.
BGSR has denied wrongdoing, claiming that contracts purportedly showing evidence of bribery were forged.
See the Aug. 22, 2013 edition for full coverage.
{fcomment}