Firms urged to act more quickly in face of suspected cashew nut scam in Italy

Lawyer Davide Galllasso, who is coordinating with Vietnam’s Trade Office in Italy to deal with this case, told the Vietnam News Agency on March 11 that initial progress has been seen, with the first five containers to arrive at the Port of Genoa kept by Italy’s financial police, which was thanks to timely information from the involved businesses, moves by lawyers, and support from the Vietnamese Embassy and Trade Office.

However, that doesn’t mean the Vietnamese companies have got rid of danger as some people proclaiming themselves the buyer have hired lawyers and liaised with an Italian court to reclaim the goods since they have original documents.

Italian authorities will issue rulings on who is the real owner of the goods and return it to the owner, he said, noting that it is not easy for Vietnamese firms to prove themselves the real owner when they lost the original documents.

The best solution now is that the Vietnamese companies concerned team up with one another and take swift actions so that the Italian court views this as a case of dangerous crime and open a trial soon, keeping the goods away from irrelevant parties’ attention and preventing financial losses like storage costs and spoiled goods, according to Galllasso.

He recommended all the victims gather and immediately send related information such as contracts and delivery codes of the remaining batches to the Vietnam Trade Office and the lawyer, authorise the lawyer to represent them to work with Italian authorities, stay updated with the situation, and follow instructions given by the Trade Office and the lawyer.

The firms whose containers have yet to arrive at Italian ports need to take actions more quickly so as to keep their goods safe at the ports, he went on, adding that making right and timely decisions will benefit the businesses involved in this suspected scam.