Bangladesh's Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate has intercepted five suspicious export consignments filed by Valmont Fashions Ltd, after a physical check found none of the declared goods at the depot, even though paperwork showed exports worth nearly Tk 5.43 crore.
According to a press release, the five consignments were declared on the ASYCUDA World system as carrying a combined 121,175 kilograms of goods, valued at $438,304.
Yet when investigators visited the Isaac Brothers Industries Ltd inland container depot, where the shipments were supposed to have been staged, neither depot authorities nor the clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent concerned could produce any of the goods.
Officials said the case first came to light on September 3 when intelligence officers reviewing export consignments on ASYCUDA World noticed inconsistencies in the destination countries, the nature of the goods and the declared weight.
The five shipments listed the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines as destinations, unusual for a garment exporter, since Bangladesh's main apparel markets are the European Union – particularly Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Denmark – along with the United States and the United Kingdom, with smaller volumes going to Japan, Australia, India, Turkey and Russia.
Investigators also found that the volume of exports declared by the bonded company was disproportionate to the raw materials it had imported over the past year, falling well outside the standard input-output coefficient normally expected for such firms.
When customs officers ordered the goods to be produced for inspection at the depot, both the depot authorities and the C&F agent admitted the declared goods had never actually entered the facility. Neither party could offer a satisfactory explanation as to how customs formalities for the shipments had been completed without the goods ever being received.
Customs officials said the case raises a central question: how the export process was signed off without any physical verification of goods entering the depot.
The intelligence directorate is now investigating the exporter, the C&F agent, the depot authorities, and any other individuals or entities who may have colluded in the alleged scheme.
Officials said appropriate action under customs and other relevant laws would be taken against those found responsible once the investigation is complete.