IMB WARNS OF NEW MARITIME SCRAP METAL SCAM
July 1st, 2011
BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Maritime Bureau (IMB) has warned heavy melting scrap buyers to beware of fraudsters selling phantom waste metal cargoes from Trieste, Italy, that never arrive. The IMB has reported 13 such scams (one involving aluminium profiles) involving a sophisticated abuse of bills of lading, letters of credit and associated documents. These have fooled buyers in South Korea, Bangladesh, India and Vietnam into believing real metal cargoes have left port, triggering bank payments. But the containers never arrived and the fraudsters escaped ...
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