In a stunning stream of disclosures to this medium, regarding the business relationship between Argentine mining investor, Jose Ignacio Castelluchio on the one hand, and Sierra Leone’s Special Envoy for Trade and Investment, Ishmael El-Abbouti and partner, Mary Jatu Kosia on the other hand, sources close to both sides have revealed that it is Castelluchio, who is actually the scammer and a fraudster; one with a track record of breaking agreements, defrauding business partners and employing acts of thuggery and other unsavoury acts to wade off his suspicious victims.
Narrating the stories of Castelluchio’s victims of fraudulence and other illegal acts, our sources disclosed that the Argentine on his entry into Sierra Leone, first established his mining ventures at Yardu Road, in Koidu City, in Kono District, Eastern Sierra Leone.
Delving into the expose of the narrations of our sources, our investigators found out that Castelluchio’s sojourn in Kono was short-lived because of his dubious deals with his customers, many of whom claimed that their business relationships with the Argentinian have sour and filled with controversies, which outcomes only benefitted the Argentinian. The result of these unsavoury relationships with his customers, according to our investigation, caused him to loss favour in Kono and he had to relocate his business to the Northern region of the country, specifically to a place called Mayata in Tonkolili District.
At Mayata, our investigation found out, Castelluchio was accorded a stretch of land on lease and based on certain promises that had to do with the corporate social responsibilities of his company. However, our investigations further reveal that once Castelluchio had found his feet on the ground in Tonkolili District, he discountenanced his agreement and promises with the land owners at Mayata, especially the landlady with whom he had had his first contact and was now using police and other influences to intimidate this landlady whenever she goes to remind him of corporate social responsibility agreements and promises. In a consequent uprising against Castelluchio’s apparent disregard of the agreements and promises with the community, the Argentinian caused a team of paramilitary police to raid the people and caused the arrest and detention of a number of his hosts including the landlady.
But after accomplishing his objectives we were told that he used his influence at the local police and bribed them to have his landlady locked up. The people had requested their land after Castelluchio had failed to keep his end of the bargain,” our sources narrated to this medium.
It must be recalled that the matter between Castelluchio and Moroccan national Ismael El-Abbouti and Mary Jatu Kosia of Morokia Minerals Limited made national and international news as people hoping to get involved in the mining industry anywhere in the world are usually victims of fraud and other scams.
Mining is cash intensive; therefore, losing money in mining related work that has nothing to do with mining is hard for anyone to bear. But although Argentine investor Castelluchio has been outspoken about how he was allegedly defrauded by Kosia and El-Abbouti, we have been informed by source close to the matter who alleged that the Argentine also has some skeletons in his closet.
One of our sources informed nightwatch that there is another pressing matter involving the Argentine mining investor that raised a lot of eyebrows as to his sincerity of being defrauded, especially with him crying wolf.
“Well what we know is that Jose sold a vehicle to someone but then turned around to borrow that same vehicle only to then proceed to sell the vehicle to another. What is more fraudulent behaviour than that? We found out that Castelluchio sold a vehicle to one Samuel Sankoh but after that came back to rent the same vehicle from Sankoh which he later sold to another person. The mining industry is made up of a lot of crooked characters as many of them are only in it for the profit motive, which always eats at their sense of morality. We are at odds to believe Jose Ignacio Castelluchio because we found out that while he is making all these claims he is the one perpetrating the acts he is accusing others of doing. We know that he is in the habit of hiring thugs to intimidate people. But the most serious allegations are that he allegedly poisoned Sierra Leone’s Special Envoy for Trade and Investment Ishmael Abbouti and also allegedly hired thugs to harm Mary Kosia,” a female police investigator disclosed to this medium.
Our sources informed that the matter of the vehicle sold to more than one person by Jose Ignacio Castelluchio has been reported and is being handled by the Sierra Leone Police.
However, in a news report that has widely circulated it has been reported that Argentine mining investor Jose Ignacio Castelluchio reportedly fell victim to an alleged scam involving Ishmael EL Abbouti and Mary Jatu Kosia, who convinced him to buy shares in a company called Morokia Minerals Limited, leading him to lose a total of $400,000.
Accordingly, Castelluchio is reported to have Ishmael El-Abbouti at a hotel in Lungi in 2022 upon his arrival in Sierra Leone. During their conversation Castelluchio disclosed his intentions for being in the country, which led to Abbouti allegedly informing him that he was also involved in the mining business.
The news report continued that Abbouti, along with Kosia and his lawyer, Mr. Campbell, allegedly convinced Castelluchio to invest in purchasing 50 per cent of the shares of Morokia Minerals Limited. After signing an agreement, Castelluchio reportedly invested $300,000, with an additional $100,000 spent on equipment maintenance, totalling $400,000.
However, Castelluchio claimed that he later discovered that the company does not exist, casting suspicions that it was a fraudulent enterprise. Sources claim that Castelluchio attempted to retrieve his money from Abbouti and Kosia, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
Kosia is meanwhile accused of blocking Castelluchio from recovering his mining equipment, allegedly using a man named Abu Bakarr to intimidate him with thugs.
“It is reported that when contacted Madam Kosia denied the allegations, stating that Castelluchio had not paid the $300,000 for the shares in question. She claimed that there was a written agreement for Castelluchio to purchase her 30% share of the company, but he had failed to make the payment. Regarding claims that the company was a scam, Kosia stated that the company is registered and legitimate. She also denied preventing Castelluchio from retrieving his mining equipment, explaining that the equipment was co-owned and not solely his.”
Efforts to reach Ishmael El-Abbouti for comments were unsuccessful. This medium is informed that he is out of the jurisdiction seeking medical treatment for an incident of alleged poisoning allegedly blamed on Argentinian, Castelluchio.
Meanwhile, sources in the Sierra Leone Police have informed that Castelluchio’s passport and other documents are with the authorities and that he is making all these allegations against Abbouti and Kosia to present himself as the victim so he can get his hands on his seized travelling documents.
“Once he gets his passport he will not hang around. He will run away because he owes a lot of people money and properties and does not have the means to pay them. This is why he is trying to present himself as the hard working guy people are trying to defraud instead of the other way around,” a police source informed.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach Jose Ignacio Castelluchio to respond to and or comment on the varied allegations made against me in the course of this investigation proved futile. Nightwatch will continue following developments on these episodes, while making further efforts to reach Castelluchio.