A freight forwarder with more than 30 years’ experience in business is warning fellow business leaders to carry out due diligence before working with overseas partners.
With the market being driven by the growth in e-commerce, and with the advent of Brexit, a whole host of new opportunities have opened up for the freight forwarders moving goods to and from the UK on behalf of their customers.
But Chadd Blunt, CEO of Birmingham-based Millennium Cargo, has told that he not only lost several thousand pounds but was also fearful for his wellbeing after being coaxed to China by a company claiming it wanted to do business and could potentially offer a big contract for the right deal.
“It all looked good,” Chadd said. “They knew what they wanted, they spoke in cargo language and they seemed to be genuinely looking to do business.
“I had done my own due diligence and all seemed legit.”
So not wanting to let the opportunity pass by Chadd flew to China at the first opportunity.
But having left the UK full of hope and optimism, it was a different story very soon after touching down in China.
“From the moment I met them I knew something wasn’t right,” Chadd said. “My gut instinct was to walk away but I didn’t take heed. I had travelled 6,000 miles so I wanted to see it through to the end and find out what was really on offer.
“It was a very bad move. I should have hopped on the next plane home as soon as the warning bells started ringing.”
Chadd said it was apparent his contacts wanted money and he was unsure of how far they might go to get it.
They attempted to ply him with drink. But being tall and of a large stature Chadd says he was able to keep his wits about him.
They asked him for $4,000 in notary fees to get the deal off the ground. Chadd said it was at this point he knew for sure that no deal had ever existed.
He said: “I paid them some, but not all of the money to buy me some time. Then they wanted expensive gifts for the Chief Executive – $10-20,000 of gold.
“I bought them a small gift to give me some time, but it still cost me over $1,000.
“To try and strengthen our relationship they gave me a gift for my wife back home. This turned out to be as fake as the rest of the deal!”
Trying to figure out how to get back home to safety Chadd said he laughed when his contacts laughed and smiled and nodded along as they spoke, so they didn’t become suspicious of his plans to get as far away from them as soon as possible.
He left China as soon as he could but says he was still plagued by his Chinese contacts after touching down on British soil.
Risk and compliance specialists GWCI works with organisations such as Millennium Cargo to help safeguard them from such situations.
GWCI CEO Graham Welland commented: “Such consequences are easily avoidable if companies first think proactively before signing on the dotted line but sadly we hear about cases such as Chadd’s all too often and it is usually not until businesses have been subject to similar circumstances that they seek our advice.
“If Chadd had come to us sooner we would have prepared a detailed reputational report that would have provided all the insight needed to confirm that the company in question is to be avoided completely.
“Through producing a Reputational Damage Report, we would have gathered open source information concerning the third party in question and provided Chadd with a clear understanding of the integrity of the company along with any dubious links or previous records with corruption.
“In Chadd’s case our work with mitigating risk goes beyond safeguarding companies against financial or reputational damages and demonstrates that without the appropriate due diligence even the most experienced of individuals can easily expose themselves to potentially dangerous situations by chasing what appear to be lucrative overseas contracts. “
Chadd added: “So what’s the moral of the story? No matter how experienced you are in this game you can never be too careful. Do more due diligence, don’t get railroaded into moving too fast and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
“I’m not going to lie. This story is a little embarrassing to tell. I should have known better. But if I can help one other person avoid the same mistake then it’s a story worth telling!”
