Of the 35 containers with missing original documents, 10 have been bailed out, fully agreed with the shipping company, are on their way back to Vietnam.

The above information has just been reported by the Vinacas Association and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce in Italy Nguyen Duc Thanh VnExpress. According to Mr. Thanh, of the 36 lost control cashew containers, in fact only 35 lost the original set of documents (the other one has found the document and is in the process of being sold to foreign partners). Out of these lost documents, 10 containers have now been agreed with the shipping company. The enterprises have been deposited/bank guarantee so they are sending the goods back to Vietnam.

The other 9 container conditions were considered by a company to be “unaware of having someone in its name” to place an order. Consequently, they refused to accept the shipment on board in order for the carrier to return ownership to the seller.

However, the shipping lines cite international practice, forcing Vietnamese companies to deposit/bank guarantee more than 100% of the value of the shipment to actually regain ownership. This amount is to ensure that if someone else brings the original set of documents to sue for goods, the carrier will not suffer any damage. Enterprises are currently very difficult because they are related to the shipment, so they need the relevant agencies to handle and support them.

With the remaining 16 containers being further processed. In particular, there is a container with the original set of documents, but CMA CGM has not changed recipients for exporting Vietnamese companies (there are other buyers). This carrier requires a rejection letter from the old consignee in the original set of documents (LOI/lor). The joint venture enterprise went to the business registration address of the former purchasing company to request the sending of a rejection letter but was unsuccessful because of the “ghost” address.

“Vietnamese businesses after this incident have had a lot of difficulties because the company could not afford to deposit, bank guarantee,” Thanh said.

Currently, the company still tries to negotiate with the shipping lines only using 110% bank guarantee instead of 150% to reduce pressure on the business but Cosco does not agree. Therefore, Mr. Thanh suggested that Vietnamese credit institutions, if they have packages of projects to support small and medium enterprises, consider helping them overcome this difficulty.

On the part of the Trade still actively investigating the companies buying things, motivating them to sign the certificate of non-receipt of goods to return ownership to the seller. However, the difficulty in this job is that many actual companies do not exist and the company owner does not see them appear.

In order to reclaim ownership more quickly, the Merchant has coordinated with Vinacas and the sales team, the Law Firm to submit enough files to the Criminal Court and the Italy Civil Court.

Looking back at the case of these uncontrolled cashew containers, many Vietnamese authorities said that the business was too hasty and inexperienced in trade, thus revealing many gaps that the partners took advantage of to defraud. In particular, according to Mr. Thanh, there are 3 main openings making it difficult for 35 containers to regain control.

The first gap is that the business does not know who the partner is. Through working with the business, they said that the partner has not been verified. Vietnamese enterprises believe in brokerage companies, so in the process of signing cooperation, the company only signs model contracts of brokers. As a result, when scammed by a partner, they have no one to “hold their hair” and have more difficulty than other similar scams.

The second opening is choosing a risky payment method. In particular, the form of payment is applied to the transaction of batches of cashews thanks to the collection method attached to documents (Documents against Payment – D/P).

This is the form in which the importer can only obtain the set of documents when the bank has transferred enough money. But the risk here is that the seller through the bank can control the right to dispose of the goods, not actually control the buyer’s payment.

Mr. Thanh advised that if the partner is not subject to irrevocable letter of credit (L/C) payment method but is required to pay according to D/P, a minimum deposit of 15-30% of the shipment value is required. The seller must choose the appropriate form of document exchange to avoid risks. On the other hand, before signing the sales contract, it is necessary to check the history of formation and business of the import partner.

The third gap is the loss of the original set of documents without knowing where they are. This shows the travel route of the original set of documents exposed. The pin (tracking number of the voucher package sent via courier, i.e. the number of the original parcel package) is exposed. Somehow, the buyer had the pin code of the original set of documents. From there, they can retrieve the itinerary of the bill of lading and find a way to withdraw the original set of documents on the way. Currently, this pin is only known to the sender. In this case the bank and the courier have this number. However, in order to know who is exposed and how the process is revealed, we have to wait for the investigation authorities.

Currently, the Ministry of Public Security in collaboration with the Italian authorities is investigating and clarifying. fraudulent behavior for the court to issue a judgment, as a basis for the business to get the goods back soon.

The out-of-control containers of 5 Vietnamese enterprises began to be discovered in early March when the exporting enterprises discovered many signs of fraud when sending documents asking to collect money from Vietnamese banks to Turkish banks. The SWFIT number (the unique code of each bank used in interbank transactions globally), has been changed several times.

After the buyer’s bank receives the documents, the purchasing partner again notifies their incorrect information, requests the return of the set of documents, but does not specify the form of return even though the Vietnamese bank has repeatedly contacted. Some other contracts are notified by the Bank of Italy, the documents sent are only photocopies, not originals, even white papers.

Source: VNExpress