Guidelines and Things to do to avoid these scams in Oil Trade:

[dkchoi]

Guidelines and Things to do to avoid these scams in Oil Trade:
1.- Always contact your country’s embassy in Moscow for help on screening Russian sellers.
2.- Ask your embassy to recommend a local lawyer to screen and verify any document that you receive from Moscow.
3.- Get your lawyer to invite you to Moscow to verify all documents issued by your seller and to visit your seller.
4.- Get the seller to move first by issuing PB from reputable Russian Bank with a major Foreign corresponding bank and Vessel Charter Party Agreement verifiable through your lawyer in Moscow.

There is no scam without a Bank.
Check the seller’s bank listed on the contract.
Bank uses their own mail server.
If given bank email address shows a different mail server then be concerned.
Call the bank!
Bank officers should use a land line for their phone number, not cell phone!
Serious and successful sellers should not have any need to collect Transneft fees upfront from you, once you show them preliminary proof of fund via BCL or soft probe.
Only scammers want to see your money first, because their business is to collect these fees, not to sell oil!

Furthermore, once you send them one payment, they tell you that they have a quota and that you need to send them more deals, before they can accept your Pre-advice LC or issue PB.
Even, if you ask them to sign a promissory note to return the money in case of non-performance, they will do it because you have no way of collecting that money back from them.
Do not accept any document from these people, unless you have a way of verifying it independently.
They are master forgers for all sort of refinery and government documents.
They use a lot of Seller’s mandate all of over the world to bring them business!!
The Russian mandates are part of the scam and foreign mandates are usually innocent victims, who think that they are representing a legitimate Russian seller.
Please don’t be afraid to share your scam stories !!!
Scammers use the same scheme over and over because their victims do not speak out!
Your story will help weeding out scammers from the business.
It is not just about the money, it is about detecting these scams soon enough to avoid wasting time.
Since this article was initially posted here, there have been some new company listings on www.Alibaba.com  and other websites (Lukhoilsandgas, Golden Oil, Zhogas, Sogaz, …) presenting themselves as mandates for Russian companies like RUSNEFTPROM.
Our personal recommendation is not to do business with any mandate or company that lists relationship with Alduke Holdings-Sibneftprom, RUSNEFTPROM or any of the companies listed above in this article.
The real test is for you to get a copy of their procedure.
They all require upfront fee from the buyer for Transneft fee, before they issue PB, POP, or show any oil or SGS report or proof of previous deals where that have actually ship any oil to anybody.

How to deal successfully and safely in Russia?
Remember, if anybody demands upfront money from you – Deal is Fake! – Run Away!
If anybody tells you, that price is so good, because he has personal relationship with General Director or President, V-president (school friend) etc. etc. – Deal is Fake! – Run Away!
IF anybody demands any “registration fee” according to “government law” or transportation fee for example for TRANSNEFT or any money before transaction – Deal is Fake! – Run Away!
Any respectable seller who has closed deals before should not have any problem paying $30,000 for the so-called transneft fee.
The big oil sellers (GAZPROM, ROSNEFT,…) do not even mention these so called fees.
All banks used their own Mail servers.

• It’s not hard to identify simple scammers.
  Almost always you can say that after the following easiest procedures:
• Check their website.
  It should have both: Russian and English version. 
• Check their website at www.who.is/ paying attention to it’s type, IP location, date of creation and website status. 
• If their telephone or fax number starts with +7 9…, take into consideration that it’s a mobile phone number. 
• If possible, check their address at google earth or any other internet map’s website.There also are scammers, using genuine Russian oil suppliers’ names.
  Then you should address to your country’s embassy in Russia or to Russian embassy (or Russian Trade representation = Trade Commission) in your country.
  Because in different documents, they send to you there are many spelling mistakes in the stamps and signatures and any Russian will tell you that.There are only 3 types of fraud (all concerning their asking you for upfront payment prior to providing any proofs that they are able to supply):1. asking for transneft fee

2. asking for legislation fee (Ministry of Energetics, High Court, etc.) 3. selling you a mandate

Well, the cheapest cheese is only in the mousetrap. Just don’t think that you are smarter than anyone and can buy much cheaper than average oil in enormous quantity from an unknown company. So when these scammers list a bank officer with an email address showing a different mail server – Deal is Fake! – Run Away!
If your potential deal is kind of “Too good to be true” – Deal is Fake! Links:

http://sites.google.com/site/blacklistscammersoilandother/file-manager

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/6545072/The-list-of-some-FAKEs-companies-in-Russia-The/

http://www.alees.com/Black_list.aspx