George Soros sued by fellow billionaire in mine brawl

Beny Steinmetz's companies allege Soros orchestrated mine loss

Companies controlled by Israeli mining magnate Beny Steinmetz sued fellow billionaire George Soros, claiming he cost them at least $10 billion through a defamation campaign that stripped them of rights to an iron ore deposit in Guinea and other business opportunities around the world. Soros funded law firms, transparency groups, investigators and government officials in Guinea in a coordinated effort to ensure BSG Resources lost the rights to the Simandou deposit in April 2014, BSGR said in a complaint filed Friday in Manhattan federal court.

After years of BSGR accusing Soros of propagating corruption allegations which resulted in its loss of Simandou, this is the first time it took direct legal action against him. In the complaint, BSGR alleges that Soros was driven by a grudge dating back to 1998 around a business in Russia and his alleged hostility towards Israel.

“To Soros, Steinmetz’s success, as well as his active, passionate promotion of Israeli life, business and culture are anathema," BSGR said in the complaint. “Soros is also well known for his long-standing animus toward the state of Israel.” Soros’s spokesman Michael Vachon didn’t immediately respond to an email or messages. Bloomberg