The recent arrest of an African political fixer on charges of bribing the president of Guinea for lucrative mining rights is an embarrassment for hedge fund billionaire George Soros and former UK prime minister Tony Blair.
Soros, through his Revenue Watch Institute, and Blair, through his Africa Governance Initiative, had given money and technical support to Guinea’s President Alpha Condé to combat corruption.
The complaint from the US Attorney in the Eastern District against the alleged fixer Samuel Mebiame, who was arrested in Brooklyn Aug. 16 and whose father, Leon Mebiame, was once prime minister of Gabon, doesn’t name Condé, referring to him only as “Guinea Official No. 1.”
But the complaint lists the bribes as cash, an S-Class Mercedes-Benz, and use of a private jet.
The complaint also doesn’t mention Soros and Blair, and they are not accused of any wrongdoing.
“George Soros backed Alpha Condé to the hilt,” one insider told me. “Not only with the cash donations, but also with infrastructure, lawyers and advisers.”
Soros chaperoned Condé at the Davos and G-8 meetings, giving an air of legitimacy to his protégé. “Tony Blair piled in and had an eight-man team in Guinea advising as well,” said my source.
“Condé pretended to dance for them . . . but did what he was always going to do behind their backs.”
A spokesman for Soros said, “George has donated several million dollars over the years to help fight corruption and build government capacity in Guinea. There is no evidence that any of those funds were misappropriated.
“Moreover, we are confident that the funds have helped promote greater transparency and better governance, particularly in the mining sector.”