A $10 billion suit against George Soros accuses the self-styled ‘humanitarian’ of meddling in the politics of a poor African country in order to settle his own scores, a charge the billionaire’s critics say reflects his longtime modus operandi.
The 86-year-old investor, who controls a massive web of international nonprofits in addition to his vast financial empire, used his sway with the government of Guinea to freeze Israeli company BSG Resources out of the West African nation’s lucrative iron ore mining contracts, according to the suit filed last month in New York Federal Court by BSG Resources.
“Soros was motivated solely by malice, as there was no economic interest he had in Guinea,” BSGR alleges in court papers.
A spokesman for Soros, who regularly supports nascent democratic governments in Eastern Europe and Africa, said the philanthropist has a lifelong interest in helping impoverished nations, and only backed a probe of BSG out of corruption concerns.
Whatever the ultimate outcome in the current case, it is not the first time Soros has been accused of sowing political upheaval to advance a personal agenda. Critics around the world, including in the U.S. and in Soros’ homeland of Hungary, say the liberal financier often masquerades as a humanitarian while manipulating the political landscape.
“We are committed to use all legal means at our disposal to stop pseudo-civil society spy groups such as the ones funded by George Soros,” Hungary’s top education official, Minister of Human Capacities Zoltan Balog said recently.
In the U.S., Soros has spent heavily on politics from local district attorney races to presidential campaigns. While his stated goals have included reshaping the justice system, achieving income equality, battling climate change and fighting racism, critics say he has used his money to buy massive influence within the Democratic Party.
Soros has also been accused of using his Open Society Foundation and U.S. diplomatic connections to interfere with the government of Macedonia which resulted in a coup, according to Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
In 2002, Soros was convicted in France of insider trading for buying stakes in companies previously owned by the government, including the bank Société Générale, based on confidential information.
In the current case, BSG is controlled by Soros’ nemesis and fellow billionaire Beny Steinmetz, who accuses Soros and his nonprofits of orchestrating a bribery probe to manipulate the administration of President Alpha Conde to strip BSGR of mining contracts.
Steinmetz claims Soros was motivated by hostility toward Israel and a 20-year-old grudge against Steinmetz regarding a business in Russia and his hostility towards Israel.
A DOJ spokesperson declined to confirm or deny whether it is investigating BSG as part of a criminal case, but confirmed it has found jurisdiction in the past to investigate bribery in Guinea’s lucrative mining industry in cases involving neither BSG nor Soros.
Attorney for BSG Resources Louis Solomon told Fox News they hope to begin court proceedings in July in New York City.
