The arrest was “in violation of the decision of Greek Justice,” given that the Athens Court of Appeal had already “ruled definitively and irrevocably against his extradition to Romania,” said a statement issued on behalf of Steinmetz.
Steinmetz spent the night at the airport, and was taken to the Prosecutor’s Office at the Athens Court of Appeals in the morning, before being released on a 5,000 euro bail, said a spokesperson for Steinmetz. He is prohibited from leaving the country until “formal settlement of the matter.”
Romania’s supreme court sentenced Steinmetz in absentia to five years in prison in December 2020, for forming an “organized criminal group” that was found to have conspired with a prince, Paul Philippe of Romania, to fraudulently obtain over $100 million of real estate. Both men strongly deny any illegality.
Romania named Steinmetz a wanted man and issued the European Arrest Warrant, leading to his being arrested twice – in Greece and in Cyprus – before his latest arrest yesterday.
He was first arrested in Greece in November 2021 and allowed to leave the following spring, when the Athens Court of Appeal decided against extraditing him to Romania. The Athens court ruled that one of the three Romanian supreme court justices who convicted him had not sworn an oath of office, and that this risked a “violation of his fundamental right to a fair trial.”
Later, a decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) – ruling on a complaint by Romania over a related case – cast doubt over the rationale for the Athens court’s decision. The ECJ ruled that it was unlawful for courts to reject a European Arrest Warrant “on the ground that the record of the oath taken by one of the judges” in the original case cannot be found.
Steinmetz was arrested again in August last year, this time in Cyprus. However, the Supreme Court there also rejected his extradition, saying he risked inhumane treatment.
OCCRP was unable to confirm the reason for the arrest with Greek authorities by the time of publication.
Steinmetz has also been sentenced to three years – half in jail, half suspended – in a separate case in Switzerland, and is awaiting a ruling on his appeal, filed in early 2023. Last month Steinmetz claimed to have unearthed new documents showing that the original prosecutor in the case had “violated criminal procedure.” It is “evident that Beny Steinmetz was denied his right to a fair trial,” according to a statement on his behalf.