Vietnam Pepper Association information about 5 agricultural product shipments suspected of fraud in Dubai - UAE

The information clearly states that Vietnamese businesses were scammed with 5 containers with a shipment value of 516,761 USD. Port to Vietnam, port to Jebel Ali Dubai - UAE.

5 consignments of agricultural products and spices suspected of fraud in Dubai - UAE

Up to this point, 4 shipments have been taken out of the port without payment, including 2 containers of pepper, 1 container of cinnamon, 1 container of cashew, with a total value of about 400 thousand USD. 1 shipment of star anise is expected to arrive at the port on July 26, 2023, worth 126.3 thousand USD (original documents have also been lost).

Regarding transactions of businesses for lost shipments, the Vietnam Pepper Association informed that businesses sign with customers in the form of D/P collection, that is, the export documents will be delivered by the seller's bank to the buyer's bank, then the buyer to the buyer's bank to pay the money.

After the buyer's bank receives enough money, it will simultaneously transfer the money to the seller's bank and deliver the export documents to the buyer for the buyer to carry out import procedures and pull the container out of the port of entry.

Vietnamese banks use DHL service to deliver the original documents to Ajman Bank and Ajman Bank staff has confirmed that 5 sets of documents have been successfully signed.

However, after that, for unknown reasons, the original documents were no longer kept at Ajman bank, so Vietnamese banks repeatedly asked Ajman bank to pay.

Realizing the delay and delay from both the bank and the buyer, the export companies checked on the shipping lines system and found that all 4 containers had disappeared from the port.

When the case was discovered that the goods had been taken out of the port, the buyer could not contact and now the company has also closed at the registered office. Therefore, the companies have requested the Vietnamese bank to request Ajman bank to return the original documents and have continuously inquired, even through other forms of email and direct phone, but so far this bank has not responded and only announced that it has transferred information to the head office for settlement.

After the business reported the incident, the Association quickly reported to the relevant authorities and proposed to coordinate and support the business to recover the money.

On July 24, 2023, the Vietnam Pepper Association continued to request the UAE Embassy in Hanoi, consider and request the relevant authorities of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai in particular to take measures to handle the incident, ask Ajman Bank PJSC to be jointly responsible for the organized fraud, calculated by the buyer who is the right company to pay BARFT, and to recover the correct payment for the goods sold by the Vietnamese company BARFT, targeting the goods. VND D/P.

“This incident must be resolved soon to, on the one hand, help to recover the money for the 4 Vietnamese enterprises, but more importantly, to promptly prevent other similar cases from happening again, but in the immediate future, 1 container of star anise is expected to dock at Jebel Ali port on July 26, 2023. It is highly likely that this shipment will also be lost when the original documents are no longer in the bank thanks to collection through D/P payment similar to the previous 4 shipments", emphasized the Vietnam Pepper Association .

Due to the great loss and damage, the same buyer, the same bank, the same form of fraud with a conspiracy, an organization, the possibility of collusion with the bank/banker, the Vietnam Pepper Association proposed to Ambassador Obaid Saeed Bin Taresh Al Dhaheri The United Arab Emirates in Vietnam to urgently request the UAE, Vietnamese businesses and authorities to urgently support Vietnamese businesses in the UAE, Vietnamese law enforcement agencies and authorities in Vietnam to enforce the law enforcement agencies in the UAE and the relevant authorities in Vietnam. in the UAE.

Accordingly, the Jebel Ali Port Authority in the UAE is required to keep the shipment of anise flowers worth $126,300 and not allow the goods to be taken out of the port. Requesting Dubai police - Local Police Office In Jebel to open an investigation project to arrest buyers, investigate and return 4 previously taken shipments to businesses and help recover the amount of goods for Vietnamese businesses.

At the same time, soon take measures to temporarily hold people who come to receive the scheduled shipment of star anise, which will arrive at the port on July 26, 2023 for investigation. Request the shipping line in Dubai to coordinate with the Jebel Ali Port Authority and the police to seize the shipment on July 26 and not allow it to be picked up.

Requesting the Central Bank of Dubai - UAE to consider and supervise the banking inspection of Ajman Bank PJSC is the joint party responsible for collecting money for Vietnamese enterprises in accordance with the terms of D/P payment.

According to the Vietnam Pepper Association, up to this point, it can be said that the timely intervention role of ministries, departments and sectors is very important, of which the Vietnamese Embassy in Dubai, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have sent a note; The Vietnam Trade Office in the UAE came to work directly and the relevant agencies of the UAE received the information.

However, to have the real involvement of the UAE's law enforcement agencies, it is necessary to have more influence and intervention, at higher levels of Vietnam such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ambassador and the State Bank because of the serious nature of the transaction involving Ajman Bank, which is responsible for collecting collection with Vietnamese banking partners .

According to the Vietnam Pepper Association, all the original documents of the shipment were sent by the Vietnamese bank to Ajman bank, successfully delivered to the bank, and it is not clear why the bank lost the documents to the buyer while not completing the D/P payment transaction with the seller's Vietnamese banking partner.

When being queried and asked for information by Vietnamese banks, Ajman Bank did not actively cooperate, did not respond to information and requests of Vietnamese banks.

The association said that with the role of state management, including supervision of the implementation of international payment operations, the State Bank has the role and voice to work with the Central Bank of Dubai, requesting the Central Bank of Dubai to consider and take measures to inspect and supervise Ajman bank to require Ajman bank to fulfill its responsibility as the seller's D/P collection bank with the bank.