Vietnam exporters fret over possible $7 mln cashew nut scam

Five exporters in Vietnam are 'sitting on fire' as they are at risk of losing 36 containers of cashew nuts already dispatched to a buyer in Italy, or $7 million, in a suspected scam.

According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), through a Vietnamese broker, several exporters signed contracts to export 100 containers of cashew nuts to Italy. They have received no payment to date, though some containers have arrived in Italy while others are on the way.

Bach Khanh Nhat, Standing Vice Chairman of Vinacas, said after detecting signs of fraud, five companies withdrew export documents and prevented many shipments to Italy. “Therefore, only 36 containers are currently out of control, with a total value of over $7 million”.

When the exporters reported a scam, Vietnamese banks immediately asked the buyer’s bank in Italy to send back the original documents. The Italian bank replied that it had received only copies of the bills of lading, not the original versions, causing concerns among the exporters as the whereabouts of the original documents remain unknown. Anyone with the original documents can present them to the transporters for the release of the goods.

Nhat noted that the Italian banks all have the same regional code.

Meanwhile, it is recorded that two containers were sent to Turkey. However, the sellers reported that there are changes made to the SWIFT code in the documents of collection sent from Vietnamese banks to those allegedly representing the importer in Turkey. The Turkish banks declared the buyer is not their client and said they had sent back the documents.

As all the five exporters experienced the same problem in just one month, Vinacas believes this is most likely a large-scale scam, especially given that in Italy someone already registered to receive the containers. However, the collection was prevented, and the containers are still in the port.

At a press conference on Wednesday, answering questions about the responsibility of broker Kim Hanh Viet Co.Lt., Nhat said this enterprise has been operating as a broker for 10 years. "Vinacas had not received any information condemning this company in the past."

“As far as I know, Huynh Kim Hanh (legal representative of the company) lives in the US and has not returned to Vietnam, but she still keeps in touch with Vietnamese businesses.”

Vinacas has sent an urgent notice to the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnam Trade Office in Italy, as well as a number of ministries and the State Bank of Vietnam, to ask for their support.

Vietnamese agencies in Italy and agencies in Vietnam have been coordinating with competent authorities in Italy to protect the interest of the five exporters.

The association believes that the current situation is very urgent because 2-3 containers have arrived at the port, and the remaining more than 30 containers will arrive in Italy in March 2022.

Vinacas recently sent meeting invitations and official documents to the international carriers that transport the containers, asking for support. “The only freighter met us is Cosco (China). However, Cosco said it would follow international practices and only deliver the containers to those having original documents. Vinacas will send a document to Cosco’s headquarters in Shanghai,” Nhat said.

To avoid this situation, Vinacas has actively contacted the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the court. However, it said there needs time for collecting enough documents and for negotiations between the victims and the petitioners to take place.

As the time is too short, Vietnamese enterprises are proposing to use the rulings by the International Court of Arbitration in case of emergency without the presence of the person claiming/proving that they have the original documents, he said.