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Actually question is general international law pertaining to…

Actually question is general international...

Actually question is general international law pertaining to Africa....I am not sure how to ask my question so I will give you the scope of the situation...
1: There is a shipping container of gold and cash at a bonded Warehouse in Africa with customs agents/office on site. I have opened the container, personally had the assets tested, etc. All legit contents. Everything is considered in transit, so nothing has been " declared" since it has not reached its final port of declaration.
2: It's been there for over 10 years. (I have the storage bill and it's close to $1,000,000.00)
But it's origins is suspicious and may be embezzled funds from some Africa leader maybe 20 years ago. But I have no proof of that. It could just be assets as claimed. But everthing is always corrupt somewhere in Africa.The owner can't pay the storage fee. (He is not good with money let's just say)
We took $1,000,000.00 of gold out to pay the bill.
I have asked been to accompany the container to it's final destination where it will be declared, etc.
(I will be declared custodian for transport)This is nothing I have put up money for or anything like that. There are multiple parties involved with ownership and they wanted a neutral (trusted) party to handle this. Tag, I'm it.So what I facing here?
If they are embezzled funds, but 20 years old, is there a statute of limitations?
What other hazards am I facing.

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Answered in 46 minutes by:

10/16/2021

Lawyer: Patrick, Attorney replied 1 year ago

Patrick, Attorney

Category: South Africa Law

Satisfied Customers: 3,258

Experience: BCom; LLB; Masters in Law

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Hi there and thank you for your question,

I am a practicing attorney based in South Africa and I will try to assist you with your legal question but please feel free to ask as many follow up questions in order to clarify your question.

If you are interested in a phone call to chat about your legal question (there is a further cost ...) please click “Accept” when prompted. Otherwise, please confirm that you are happy that I continue assisting you through this chat function.

Where about in Africa is this container?

When you say that you have personally had the assets tested, and that you have opened the container, do you mean YOU have personally done it? Or are you relying on somebody else?

Customer reply replied 1 year ago

I took the 20 one kilo bars to a local refinery/lab and assisted in the testing. We used 2 types of tests to verify.

Customer reply replied 1 year ago

Container is in Ghana

Lawyer: Patrick, Attorney replied 1 year ago

Is that you in the video? Did they take you and the gold bar to their own guy to test it?

Why can't the owner pay the storage fees if he knows that the container contains millions of Dollars worth of gold? That doesn't sound right to me.

I think the crux of it is that if they don't have the right permits, it would be illegal for them to export the gold, and if you are the "owner" of the container in transit, and it is stopped, you are the one who goes to jail.

Customer reply replied 1 year ago

1: Yes, that is me in the video assisting with the tests.
Yes, they took me to the refinery of their choice, so even though I have an assay report from a certified lab, this is Africa and everything is suspicious.
2: Because the gold is still part of the "in transit" container it can't be sold until the warehouse fee is paid and all contents are released.
But because it now has a "certified" value, it is being used as collateral for a backer to pay the storage fees.
3: Then after that, the backer will handle all paperwork, documents, etc., and transport to the final destination.As far as to why the owner has no money. He lost it all in a similar arrangement in another country using people he thought he could trust. (Hence why they asked me to be involved). Now he is in a bind. It had taken almost 1 year to get to this point. (between lawyers, bankers, etc.) So he and his family have exhausted all of their money.
(Mostly because they don't live modestly)But if there is this risk, then I will back out.

Lawyer: Patrick, Attorney replied 1 year ago

How much money have you advanced them to date? Did you travel to Ghana specially to see them? Did you open the container and look yourself?

Customer reply replied 1 year ago

1: I have given no money.
I am not being asked to give any money.
2: I was asked to go and over see the project by a banking friend who can not travel himself (covid issues) He is handling everything.
3: Yes, I personally was on site at the bonded Warehouse. Customs was there too. The container seals were removed at that time as well as multiple locks unlocked by multiple individual owners, etc.
1 pallet was removed by forklift and warehouse staff pried off the lid. I was then allowed to randomly remove 20 bars of gold and placed them in a secure box which I held onto for transport to the refinery for test.

Lawyer: Patrick, Attorney replied 1 year ago

It is really hard for me to say conclusively whether this is a scam or not, especially since you travelled to Ghana to inspect the gold yourself. But there are still "concerns" that I have that it is a scam, such as you don't need a custodian for a container to be transported, and a container can't remain in a bonded warehouse for over 10 years. Customs doesn't allow containers to sit in a bonded warehouse for that long.

But your original question is whether there is a statute of limitations on the funds or whatever, and I think that my major concern is that if you get involved NOW in the transportation of the gold/currency then the statute of limitations will only commence running now. The fact that the gold/currency was stolen many years ago might only help the original thief - not you.

You should also be aware that you require permits and reserve bank approvals to export gold and currency. You can't just put it in a container and ship it.

Customer reply replied 1 year ago

Thank you.

Customer reply replied 1 year ago

You have to click something on your end to let me rate you.
I will rate 5 stars.
I will also then ask a NEW related question.

Lawyer: Patrick, Attorney replied 1 year ago

Thank you very much for chatting to me. If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding your question, please let me know. I am happy to assist you further!

Patrick, Attorney

Category: South Africa Law

Satisfied Customers: 3,258

Experience: BCom; LLB; Masters in Law

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