Israeli Billionaire Beny Steinmetz has agreed to be interviewed by Swiss authorities as part of an investigation relating to the ownership of a Guinean iron-ore project, reports Bloomberg.

Steinmetz is cooperating fully with the Swiss authorities, his lawyer said in a statement.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Steinmetz has a net worth of $7.4 billion, and his mining company BSG Resources owns a 49 per cent stake in the Simandou iron ore
deposit in Guinea.

The government of Guinea has
accused BSGR of paying bribes to obtain concessions under a previous government
and is currently reviewing mining licenses including Simandou's.

BSGR denied the claims in a
statement and said that the government of Guinea had not yet provided "any original evidence to
support its false and malicious allegations against BSGR or Mr Steinmetz".

According to media reports, the Geneva home of Steinmetz
was raided by police earlier this month.

The raid was ordered by Geneva's public prosecutor following a request by the government
of Guinea.

Swiss police also raided the
offices of Onyx Financial Advisors, which provides management services for
BSGR.

BSGR said that the Swiss searches
were in connection to the arrest of two BSGR employees who have been detained
without charge for five months in the capital Conakry.

"In
an attempt to justify their continued illegal detention, the government of
Guinea has sent direct requests to the Swiss authorities to collect information
on its behalf. The government of Guinea’s
action are linked to its ongoing attempts to expropriate illegally mining
rights belonging to BSGR at Simandou in south eastern Guinea,"
BSGR said in a statement.

In April, as part of a US corruption investigation into Guinea, FBI agents arrested BSGR
agent Frederic Cilins on charges of witness tampering, obstructing a criminal
investigation and destroying records. The trial is scheduled to begin on 2
December.