Speaking to VietNamNet on the sidelines of an event on August 8, Hoang Thi Lien, chair of the Vietnam Pepper and Spices Association (VPSA), said the case of the export containers still shows complicated developments.

Four consignments were taken out of the port without payment. A container of sweet fennel, the last one, worth $126,300 (the underlying documents were lost) docked at the target port, and the parties tried to extend the time to keep the consignment of goods at the port and not deliver it to the client.

To date, the shipping firm has not issued a D/O (delivery order). The import company has to present a D/O to the warehouse supervision agency at the destination port to be able to get the cargo cleared from containers and warehouses.

According to Lien, the Vietnamese diplomatic agency has exchanged information with the UAE diplomatic agency and asked for intervention in the case.

However, the customs agency and port authorities have not received specific requests on how to deal with the consignment of goods from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Meanwhile, the process of claiming payments for the other four consignments has been arduous and tiring.

Vietnamese authorities have had working sessions with the UAE’s central bank and have been informed that the buyer’s bank (Ajman Bank PJSC) has checked all steps of the transaction and found signs of cooperation to commit fraud inside its apparatus and with some involved parties. 

The internal investigation is continuing.

However, the person who made direct contact with Vietnam’s export companies is still contacting shipping agents and continuing to make "offers". The man blamed the problem on the banks and asked the shipping firm to issue a D/O to get the remaining container of sweet fennel.

If there are not enough factors to constitute an offense, the UAE police will not conduct an investigation. Meanwhile, the man who conducts transaction will continue to do so with enterprises in the future, according to Lien.

Vietnam’s companies had earlier exported five containers of farm produce, including two containers of pepper, one container of cinnamon, one container of cashew nuts, and one container of sweet fennel, worth over half a million dollars. Of these, four containers received customs clearance, but the buyer has not paid the seller.

Tran Chung