The arrest constitutes “a violation of the decision of the Greek justice”, given that the Athens Court of Appeal has already “definitively and irrevocably ruled against his extradition to Romania”, indicates a press release published on behalf of Steinmetz.

Steinmetz spent the night at the airport and was taken to the public prosecutor’s office at the Athens Court of Appeal in the morning, before being released on bail of 5,000 euros, a Steinmetz spokesperson said. He is prohibited from leaving the country until a “formal settlement of the matter is reached.”

Romania’s Supreme Court sentenced Steinmetz in absentia to five years in prison in December 2020, for forming an “organized criminal group” that conspired with a prince, Paul Philippe of Romania, to fraudulently obtain more than $100 million from real estate. Both men strongly deny any illegality.

Romania named Steinmetz a wanted man and issued a European arrest warrant, leading to him being arrested twice – in Greece and 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 appeals court decided not to extradite him to Romania. The Athens court ruled that one of the three judges of the Romanian Supreme Court who convicted him had not taken the oath, which risked constituting a “violation of his fundamental right to a fair trial”.

Later, a decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) – ruling on a complaint filed by Romania in a related case – cast doubt on the justification of the Athens court’s decision. The ECJ ruled that it was unlawful for the courts to reject a European arrest warrant “on the grounds that the record of the oath taken by one of the judges” in the original case could not be found.

Steinmetz was arrested again in August last year, this time in Cyprus. However, the Supreme Court also rejected his extradition, finding that he risked inhumane treatment.

OCCRP was unable to confirm the reason for the arrest with Greek authorities at the time of publication.

Steinmetz was also sentenced to three years – half in prison, half suspended – in a separate case in Switzerland, and awaits a decision on his appeal, filed in early 2023. Last month, Steinmetz claimed to have unearthed new documents proving that the original The prosecutor in charge of the case had “violated criminal procedure”. It is “clear that Beny Steinmetz was denied his right to a fair trial,” according to a statement on his behalf.