Scam in cashew nut export to Italy: Vinacas races against time to help

The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) held a press conference on March 9 to inform about containers of cashew nuts transported abroad but facing the risk of loss due to missing original documents.

At the press conference, Mr. Bach Khanh Nhut, Standing Vice Chairman of the Vinacas said: "According to a scheduled plan, about 100 containers of cashew nuts will be exported to Italy and Turkey. Several containers have departed but during the process of implementation, businesses discovered signs of a scam. They have suspected of being cheated so promptly prevented other undeparted containers. As a result, the number of containers that lost control was exactly 36 but not nearly 100 as some previously posted information. In which, 2 containers have been exported to Turkey while the remaining are to Italy.

According to Mr. Nhut, 36 containers have lost their original documents of which each owns one set, so this means they have lost control of goods worth US$7,025,000, equivalent to VND162 billion.

Previously, the Vinacas received a message "calling for help" from 5 cashew processing and exporting enterprises. According to the content of the message, these 5 businesses have signed contracts with a number of Italian customers through a broker, the Kim Hanh Viet company, to export cashew nuts to Italy and Turkey. By now, some containers have arrived at the port. In a few days till the end of March, all the others will also arrive at Italian ports. One problem is that these containers arrive at small ports and are scattered in many locations in Italy rather than concentrated in one large harbor.

During the process of sending documents from Vietnamese banks to the buyers’ banks, banks in Italy announced they already received sets of documents, but just photocopies, not the originals while Turkish banks reported a change in Swift number (bank identification code).

Therefore, these banks said the buyers were not their customers, so they returned the documents to the Vietnamese side without specifying the payment form and providing the lading bill number to the Vietnamese bank which has sent a lot of messages, but received no reply.

According to the Vinacas, nearly 100 containers of cashew nuts are exported to Italy and Turkey this time through a broker, the Kim Hanh Viet company. This company is owned by a woman named Hanh (an overseas Vietnamese in the US) with more than 10 years of experience with no incident, so there is no reason to warn and it is very hard to anticipate or not to work with this person.

However, after this incident, a number of businesses filed a petition that Kim Hanh Viet showed signs of scams. Actually, this is just a suspicion and has no basis for confirmation.

Photocopies are not valid at the banks of Italy while anyone with original documents can receive goods from the shipping company. According to Mr. Nhut, enterprises are at a very high risk of losing 36 containers and it is an "urgent situation".

On the morning of March 9, the Association had a meeting with 5 banks that had cooperated with cashew exporters to find more solutions. All these banks were very enthusiastic, but in the afternoon, when working with shipping lines, only one representative from Cosco attended the meeting while the others did not come.

“Right now, we are trying our best and doing everything with hope to solve the situation. We have sent an urgent dispatch to the Embassy and the Trade Office of Vietnam in Italy asking for help by working with Italian competent authorities and shipping lines and requesting them to apply “urgent” measures to temporarily seize such cashew nut consignments that have been arrived or will arrive at the port not allowing any consignee to receive them even if they present the original bill of lading. Release of goods is only allowed upon receipt of confirmation from goods owners (sellers). All information of the consignee received by the shipping line must be immediately reported to the company which owns the consignment goods. However, it is still very hard because anyone, even if it is a robbery, who holds the original documents and comes to get the goods, they (the shipping lines) must deliver, otherwise they will be sued," Nhut said.

"We and the enterprises, have the same opinion that an international criminal organization is doing this," Nhut said.

Currently, Vinacas is continuously making all efforts to coordinate with Vietnamese authorities to request the Italian side to assist in preventing the scams from Vietnamese cashew exporters.