"Sierra Leone court lifts Octea asset freeze after complaint thrown out", 1 October 2020.

The High Court of Sierra Leone in Freetown has dismissed one of several legal complaints against Octea, a subsidiary of Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz’s BSG Resources (BSGR), on jurisdictional grounds, a court ruling shows.

A lawsuit against Octea subsidiary Koidu Limited and related companies was filed in February by 15 individuals who say that their property, livelihoods or health suffered because of operations at a diamond mine in eastern Sierra Leone, according to the complaint.

The High Court put a temporary freeze on the defendants’ assets in and around the mining concession in August ...That freeze is now lifted since the case was dismissed...

Octea still faces legal challenges in Sierra Leone.

A similar case against Octea and related companies was filed by more than 70 plaintiffs in April last year, seeking damages of an unspecified amount.

That case and nine individual complaints are still pending, Jalloh told Reuters...Representatives of BSGR and Octea told Reuters that eight of the 12 defendants listed in all the complaints don’t exist...“Our clients are alive. We have interviewed them,” Jalloh said, describing claims to the contrary as “bogus and absurd,” although he said one of the original plaintiffs had passed away since last year...