This playbook is the checklist our own desk works through on every physical cargo deal in the West Africa corridor. We publish it because a counterparty that balks at these steps is telling you something, and one that welcomes them almost always has real barrels.
0. The Ten Golden Rules
- No money moves before a signed SPA and verified allocation. Not "POP costs," not dip tests, not registration fees. Zero.
- All verification travels bank-to-bank. Documents emailed to you prove nothing; documents transmitted bank-to-bank are evidence.
- If a price sits far below market, you are the product. Real sellers place barrels at market within hours.
- Verify people through channels you find yourself — never contact details supplied in their own email.
- Principal or disclosed mandate only. Undisclosed chains mean unverifiable title and an unfundable cargo.
- Benchmark-linked pricing belongs in every SPA. Fixed numbers invite disputes and fail LC examination.
- One counterparty per deal. If several brokers email about the same cargo, none of them controls it.
- Walk away cheaply and early. Sunk-cost thinking is how buyers lose deposits, fees, and reputations.
- Your bank is your first partner. Brief them before issuing any ICPO; use a bank with a real commodity finance desk.
- Everything becomes public eventually. Never sign, send, or promise anything you wouldn't want published.
1. Verify the Company
Thirty minutes of free checks before any commercial conversation goes further:
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Ghana registration | Office of the Registrar of Companies (orc.gov.gh) — incorporation certificate, directors, status |
| UK/foreign entities | Companies House (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk) |
| Any jurisdiction | opencorporates.com |
| Sanctions screening | OFAC Sanctions Search, UN Consolidated List, EU Sanctions Map, UK OFSI list |
| Adverse media | Company name plus "fraud," "scam," or "court," alongside local country news |
Does the registered name match exactly? Do directors match the signatory? Is the company more than a year old with real filings? A freshly incorporated shell is a red flag on its own.
2. Verify Authority to Sell
- Demand a written mandate naming the principal, signed by a principal director, on letterhead — then verify it by calling the principal on its officially published phone number, never a number in a broker's signature.
- Video-call the signatory. Refusal is information in itself.
- Ask for the board resolution authorising the sale. Genuine companies keep these ready.
3. Verify the Cargo
- Allocation or refinery letters mean nothing by themselves — they are trivially forged. Accept them only via verified bank-to-bank transmission, then independently confirm with the issuing refinery or terminal using published contacts.
- For storage receipt claims (Rotterdam, Fujairah), call the terminal operator's switchboard directly with the receipt number.
4. Verify the Vessel
- Equasis.org (free account): an IMO number returns ownership, class, age, and port-state-control inspection history.
- Class society must be an IACS member (LR, DNV, ABS, BV, ClassNK, and similar).
- Check live AIS tracking; gaps or "dark periods" near sanctioned regions are disqualifying.
- A vessel older than 25 years, or one frequently renamed or reflagged, warrants extra scrutiny.
5. Communication Discipline
- Callback protocol: every material claim is confirmed on a number sourced independently, not one supplied by the counterparty.
- Free-mail domains are acceptable for first contact only; all contractual traffic should move between verified corporate domains.
- WhatsApp-only operations, refusal of video calls, and pressure language such as "allocation expires today" are reasons to disengage.
- Keep a written trail — summarise every call in a same-day follow-up email.
6. Contract Guardrails
A sale and purchase agreement we'd sign includes, at minimum:
- Benchmark formula pricing, not a bare fixed number
- No advance-payment clause; all payment under a sight documentary letter of credit, UCP 600
- Seller warrants principal status, or fully discloses the chain with authority documents
- Sanctions representation covering non-Russian, non-sanctioned origin, with a right to refuse
- Independent Q&Q inspection at load port, cost borne by seller, with a discharge re-check
- Governing law and arbitration seated somewhere enforceable and neutral
- Liquidated damages for non-delivery, and stated laycan/demurrage terms
7. Payment Structure Safety
A confirmed, irrevocable sight documentary letter of credit from a top-tier bank remains the standard; confirmation adds the confirming bank's own guarantee. Treat any structure that asks you to pre-fund something, or that leans on "operational instrument" language around an SBLC/MT760, as a stop sign. A DLC is issued only once independent verification is complete.
8. If It Goes Wrong
- If fees were paid to a fraudulent counterparty, call your bank's fraud desk within hours — recall chances fall quickly with time.
- Report to the relevant authority: Ghana CID Economic Crime Unit, Action Fraud for UK-linked entities, or IC3.gov for US touchpoints.
- Preserve everything: originals, full email headers, and transfer records.
This playbook reflects general good practice in physical commodity trading and is not legal advice. Ghana-registered and foreign counterparties should also take independent legal counsel before signing any sale and purchase agreement.