Israeli tycoon appeals corruption conviction in Swiss court

By JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — Lawyers for Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz have urged an appeals court to throw out testimony from a former first lady of Guinea that contributed to his conviction for corruption. The case involved the secret payment of millions by his firm to win coveted iron-ore contracts in the West African country. Geneva lawyer Daniel Kinzer said the terms and circumstances of a deal between Mamadie Toure, one of the wives of late Guinean President Lansana Conte, and the FBI in the United States were unclear. He said defense lawyers never had a chance to question her.  Last year Steinmetz was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 50 million Swiss francs ($51.5 million) in the case.