False Brazilian Sugar Sellers – ALERT
A client contacted me willing to seek legal actions against Raízen Energia. Raízen Energia S.A. is a joint venture between Anglo-Dutch giant Shell and Brazilian biofuel major Cosan S.A., which offers sugar and ethanol products in Brazil. The São Paulo-based company is the country’s biggest sugar and ethanol exporter. The company is also involved in the retail sale and distribution of fuel.
The Guinean man paid US$ 20,250 as an advance commitment deposit of 30%. He expected to receive 10 X 20FT Containers of refined sugar. The false sellers sent him a lot of counterfeit signed documentation, like billing invoices, export declarations, bills of landing, letters of guarantee, and even containers track numbers.
On its website, the company warns: “Raízen alerts its customers and the general public about attempts by unauthorized third parties to carry out fraudulent sales of sugar on its behalf. We reinforce that the negotiation and sale of sugar by Raízen is done only through the email sugar.export@raizen.com. If any person and/or company makes contact via different email informing that they represent Raízen, and/or any company of its economic group, for the sale of sugar, do not carry out the transaction and inform immediately to Auditoria.Interna@raizen.com”
Searching on LinkedIn, I came across others consulting companies that were approached by clients with the same problem and I learned it is quite common for scammers to send proposals for sugar prices that are just too low. They use the name of big companies like Raízen, CARGILL, and COPERSUCAR.
I just hoped Raízen and the other big companies were more concerned about this problem and would be more proactive in trying to avoid it. When you call the customer service of Raízen they won’t warn you about this kind of scam, they don’t give you any information to protect yourself, so it leaves a lot of room for the fraudsters to act.
An experienced buyer is able to identify the fraud, but an inexperienced buyer is easily deceived by low prices and fake documents. They use e-mail, letterhead, business cards, and counterfeit proposals that use the logo and addresses of large companies.
Any specialist in sugar trading will suggest always checking the futures quote on Google when you receive this kind of offer, plus check on LinkedIn the name of the contact, to see if they have an updated profile. If you’re still not sure, always have the services of experienced international consultants that can check information for you.
And never forget that margins in commodities are tightening a lot, if you receive a proposal that has too low of a price, think twice. Understanding and believing that we could fall victim to scams is the gateway to being alert to the risk and accepting the education that banks and consumer organizations provide.
Be skeptical of any offer that sounds too good to be true. Never agree to a proposition involving your money without doing research. If you do happen to fall for a scam, report it to authorities immediately.
Here at NB Brazil, we can check all information about a Brazilian supplier before you make any payment, we can also represent your company in Brazil and deal with your suppliers to make sure all is correct and agreed upon.