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International trade facing financial fraud

Says ICC-B president

Star Business Desk
The expanding international trade is facing financial fraud, the president of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICC-B) said yesterday.
"Bangladesh has been growing fast in the international trade. As trade is growing, all parties involved are also getting exposed to the risk of international trade finance fraud. The more the market of import-export is expanding, the more we are facing the risk of unknown events including fraud occurring." said Mahbubur Rahman.
Although the number of attacks in Bangladesh has fallen, the area is still listed as very high risk, he said inaugurating a daylong ICC workshop on 'International Fraud-prevention, Control & Remedies' at the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre organised for the bankers in cooperation with Mutual Trust Bank Ltd, said a press release.
"Commercial crime is growing faster than international trade. Frauds are more complex and involve larger sums than ever before. New scams are constantly being encountered,” he said.
In most cases of documentary' fraud, the banks, in one way or another, lose. At the very least, the fraud will strain the relations between the bank and its customers or the correspondent banks
in the letters of credit chain. The greatest danger though, to banks, is when they are financing a transaction where the buyers and sellers are in collusion, Rahman mentioned.
"It is our view that it is in the bank's own interest to ensure that they know precisely what activities their clients are asking them to finance. One way to do this is to make independent checks into the transactions, i.e., to authenticate the bills of lading and other documents presented under the documentary credit system. It is only tjirougjh these .inde-
pendent checks that the banks can be sure that they are financing what their clients are declaring to them. There are ways to do this without conflicting with their liabilities under the UCP. In our view, it is just good prudent practice,” Rahman said.
"We recommend banks to pick up bills of lading presented to them, at random, amongst their good and not so well known clients and have them checked at regular intervals. Such checks are done by the ICC International Maritime Bureau for. their banking
members,” he said.
While ICC rules, national and international laws/regulations are guiding the international trade, the parties involved in the trade need to get more conversant and acquainted with those rules/laws/regulations as well as they should have ideas or information about the fraudulent practices in international trade, he added.
Some 95 participants from banks, insurance, multinational companies, law firms and others big business houses attended the workshop.