A court in Cyprus approved the extradition of the Israeli businessman Benyamin (Beny) Steinmetz in Romania, where he has to serve a five-year jail sentence, Romanian minister of justice Alina Gorghou announced. The ruling isn't final, however.

"The lawyers of this fugitive businessman have three days to file an appeal, but you must know that he [Steinmetz] was convicted in December 2020 in the Băneasa Farm case. He has to serve a five-year prison sentence for committing the crime of forming an organized criminal group," minister Gorgiu announced, quoted by Economica.net.

Steinmetz was previously arrested in Greece in 2021, a country that hasn't approved the extradition request received from the Romanian authorities.

Beny Steinmetz and Tal Silberstein (who politically advised several political leaders, such as former prime ministers Călin Popescu Tăriceanu and Adrian Năstase), were definitively sentenced to five years in prison in the Băneasa Farm case. The case refers to the illegal restitution to Paul of Romania (Paul Lambrino) of the former royal farm in Băneasa and an area in the Snagov Forest.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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