What is the responsibility of the bank in the suspected fraud of 100 shipping containers to Italy?

In the case of suspected fraud of 100 containers of cashews exported to Italy, Vietnamese businesses used the method of payment through collection of documents (Documents against Payment – D/P). This is one of the common payment methods used by buyers and sellers in the field of import and export. However, there are still risks in this payment method that importers and exporters need to pay attention to.

Specifically, information from a bank, citing the Uniform Rules for Collection (URC) number 522 of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), shows that in the method of payment by collection, the bank The customer only acts as an intermediary for collection and is responsible for verifying that the documents he has received are consistent with the collection instructions and for notifying the recipient without delay.

In addition, the bank has no other responsibilities, including: the bank is not responsible for the goods related to the transaction; the selection of services of the collecting bank (exporter’s risk); accuracy and authenticity of the delivery documents as well as not responsible for the loss, mutilation, loss of documents in transit.

Thus, for the method of payment by collection, the bank is not responsible for ensuring that the transaction is paid or that the goods are in accordance with the agreement between the buyer and the seller. In the event that this risk arises, the parties need to initiate a lawsuit at a court or an economic arbitration…depending on the agreement in the contract or provisions of the law.

According to Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu, Financial and economic expert, Vietnamese businesses have not paid much attention to the issue of economic arbitration and the provisions in international commercial contracts about which country’s law or court has jurisdiction over the world. right to modify the contract. Therefore, this incident has raised alarm bells for Vietnamese importers and exporters when signing business contracts with foreign partners.

In the case of suspected fraud of 100 shipping containers exported to Italy this time, according to Mr. Hieu, Vietnamese businesses need to quickly find lawyers in Vietnam who are knowledgeable about international trade to carry out procedures to initiate lawsuits. If the importer shows signs of fraud, he or she can initiate a lawsuit in Vietnam or Italy depending on the provisions of the contract on which country has the right to adjust the contract, or sue for economic arbitration.

It is known that most of the banks today provide customers with both products through import (collecting Bank role) and export revenue (Remitting Bank role). For export collection, the bank transfers the documents received from the exporter by the method of collection for immediate payment (D/P), for collection by deferred payment (D/A), for collection according to the following conditions: other (D/OT); processing documents and sending to collect money according to the instructions of the exporter; credit to the exporter’s account when paid by a foreign bank.

According to the above bank representative, with this method, the exporter will have to pay a lower cost than the letter of credit (L/C) payment method, while the importer has the right to take the initiative in deciding at At that time, do they want to receive the shipment or not?

However, both parties run the risk that the importer may not receive the goods and fail to pay by refusing to receive the documents. Then the exporter will have to find other customers to resell the shipment, even at a low price. Or the importer accepted payment but failed to pay on the due date.

For importers, risks can still occur when goods are not inspected before paying or accepting payment. In addition, this payment method does not exclude the case that the participating parties intentionally commit fraud, fraud, etc.

Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu said that the bank in this case only played the role of a postman. So in the end, if Vietnamese exporters do not receive money from Italian importers, Vietnamese banks have no other responsibility. Therefore, it is best for exporters to request a foreign bank to issue a letter of credit (L/C) and then transfer it to a Vietnamese bank for confirmation before any import-export transaction.

“The method of payment by collection should only be applied in cases where the importer and exporter are trusted customers, it should not be applied in first-time purchase and sale transactions,” emphasized Mr. Hieu.

Besides, before signing a sales contract, exporters need to actively research their import partners through many information channels such as industry associations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Vietnamese Embassy in the importing country. Exporters, trading experience of other exporters, etc., should not trust the broker completely.

Enterprises also need to learn the regulations and customs of freight forwarding in the importing country to ensure that they have control over the goods.

Regarding the bill of lading, it is necessary to consider using the appropriate type of bill of lading, it is recommended to use the order-made bill of lading, not to use the named bill of lading or the blank bill of lading. Because in case the documents are tampered with or lost on the way and the bill of lading is named or the bill of lading is empty, anyone who gets the bill of lading can go and receive the goods without any obligation to pay or pay. accept payment.

Previously, the VNA reported on the suspected fraud of 100 containers of cashews exported to Italy. Specifically, the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) said that as of March 9, Vietnamese businesses had lost control of 36 sets of original documents (equivalent to 36 containers) out of 100 containers exported to Italy. , the value of goods is estimated at 162 billion VND.

According to Vinacas, the total number of goods signed initially was 100 containers with a value of nearly 1,000 billion VND. However, this order was divided among 5 businesses and delivered scatteredly from the beginning of February until now.

When the first container arrived at the Italian port and someone came to carry out the procedures to receive the goods, but the exporter has not yet received the payment from the buyer, the enterprise noticed signs of fraud and immediately stopped shipping in Vietnam. Male. At the same time, intervene to keep consignments in transit in Singapore from continuing their journey to Italy.

The common point of all businesses exporting cashews to Italy this time is that they are all through the brokerage company Kim Hanh Viet under the name of a Vietnamese woman (this person is currently residing in the United States), the seller does not know the information. information about the buyer and jointly choose to authorize collection via D/P method for 5 Vietnamese banks.

According to Le Phuong