The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) has just received a petition from Tin Mai Company (a Vinacas member) regarding a suspected fraud case in cashew nut export.
Specifically, Tin Mai Company signed a contract to sell cashew nuts to Bab Al Rehab Foodstuff Trading LLC, headquartered in Al Nahda, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The direct trader was Mr. Naeem Chaudhry.
The customer paid 15% of the goods in advance, then Tin Mai Company delivered the goods. On June 24, the goods arrived at Jebel Ali port, UAE. The goods were picked up and returned to the empty container on June 27, but Tin Mai Company has not yet received the payment of the remaining 85% of the value of the shipment.
The seller's bank, Sacombank , sent 2 telegrams (Swift) to the buyer's bank, Ajman Bank PJSC - Sheikh Zayed Road Dubai Branch, requesting payment and return of the documents, but they were not fulfilled.
Through the company's inspection, the shipment documents were handed over by DHL to a security officer of Ajman Bank PJSC - Sheikh Zayed Road Dubai Branch - but it is not known where the documents went afterwards. The shipping company said that the unit had delivered the goods when it had all the required documents.
According to Vinacas, in addition to the above case of Tin Mai Company, there are at least 2 other businesses in the pepper and spice industry facing a similar situation, with the same customer and the same bank. Although the value of the 3 containers of goods of the 3 businesses is only about 300,000 USD (more than 7 billion VND), they are 3 different products. Thus, there is a high possibility of collusion, connivance, and suspected fraud by the customer (buyer) and the buyer's bank.
"If this suspicion is correct, this will be a rare incident occurring in the Dubai Financial Center," said a Vinacas representative.
The Vietnam Cashew Association has contacted the Vietnam Trade Office in the UAE for support. At the same time, the unit coordinated with the Pepper and Spice Association to organize a meeting with businesses to fully grasp the information, from which it officially recommended that competent authorities of Vietnam and the UAE consider and support businesses in resolving the case.
Vinacas also recommends that businesses in the industry, if they are experiencing similar incidents, immediately contact the Vinacas office to provide information.
In April 2023, A Vinacas enterprise had 5 containers of cashew nuts exported by the Mostaganem Port Customs, Algeria auctioned off without notice. The total value of the shipment was about 466,900 USD (nearly 11 billion VND). The reason was that the customer of the Vietnamese company, Eurl ATS Food Company (Algeria), could not complete customs clearance procedures because the company had been included in the list of commercial fraud enterprises by the Algerian Ministry of Commerce since June 2022.
Previously, in March 2022, 5 Vietnamese cashew exporting enterprises also lost control of 36 containers of goods, worth more than 7 million USD, with 36 sets of original documents attached at an Italian port.
The buyer is most likely the scammer in the 36 containers of cashews that went out of control. This person "illegally seized the original documents without paying the seller."
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