Rainbowdaesh
14629
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Wuchan Zhongda Group Co. bought 2,000 tons of refined copper from a Russian smelter that should have been delivered last month. It never made it to port.
Instead, the metal was listed as much cheaper granite and has likely ended up in Turkey, according to the records of the shipping line that handled the consignment.
The consignment is worth about $20 million.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-13/chinese-trader-caught-in-20-million-russian-copper-puzzle
DragonBjorne
It’s only 20 bucks! And wtf is a millionpile anyway??
questoobligato
Clean copper clappers?
TheVampireDante
Hahahha....
billymaditsdone
Sounds like Russia and China deserve each other
glovelyday
Almost 4000 years later and nothing has really changed....
See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complaint_tablet_to_Ea-n%C4%81%E1%B9%A3ir
Drakhma
glocksout
Have you checked West Virginia?
Sixsystems
We just have meth heads that almost fry themselves stealing copper ground wires for power sub stations and cell sites.
OmnipotentBeing
erinaceus
they do fry themselves around here.
khora
Chinese-Russian business relations breaking down is good news.
Tootsie1
I used to do payroll at a copper mill. We had sold/ shipped 3 cakes to another mill. A cake is copper poured into a mold, min 12 inches thick, 3 ft wide, 10 to 15 feet long, weight about 1000 lbs each. The cakes left on the truck, the guy stopped at a rest stop in Ohio, came back out and the flat bed was EMPTY. This was a coordinated effort. You can't just walk away with those.
LeggoMyEggoJudas
I believe those would weigh quite a bit more than 1000 lbs
Tootsie1
I remember the dimensions well enough. It's the final weight i want sure of exactly. North of 1k, but I don't think north of 2k.
treboresque
MrKomisiripala
cyberspork
Ea Nasir!!!!!! *shakes fist*
KAPTKipper
waa-waa
Heelcat70
Copper doesn't like being taken for granite.
Baja2276
a2s2020
That’s so metal. You rock!
zangypoo
golf clap
camn333
The fact that it was listed as granite in the paperwork just proves someone, either the buyer or the shipper, were trying to cheat on the export/import tarifs. That might have also caused the shipping error, if someone reading the manifest just went over the listed cargo and not the intended port, maybe the assumed the granite was going where it usually goes, and loaded it on a ship to Turkey.
LonelyHumanBoy
So effectively, someone did their job correctly, and foiled a smuggling/fraud scheme in the process?
snrsquishy101
If they ignored the manifest then no they did not do their job properly.
DidItForScience
Presumably the paperwork for the "granite" said it was going to China for a Chinese buyer. And nobody knows where this stuff is, it might be in Turkey? Who picked it up from the port? Did they have paperwork? It seems like there's multiple mistakes and/or shady things going on.
camn333
I mean, yes and no? You still have customs officers being too lazy to actually check what's in the containers before shipping, which is kind of their main job. The people commiting fraud just weren't expecting the logistics company to be even worse than the customs officers at theirs.
LonelyHumanBoy
hence the "effectively"; its quite obvious the customs officer failed at their job too given the turn of events.
LuLuPennyAndOdium44
Hmm regulations, how do they work (and why do republicans want to undo them)?
FaecalJacksonPollock
Somehow Ea-Nasir has returned.
MasterMookie
This isnt low quality copper though. Well it could be if it really was mistaken for granite.
AllGloryToTheDarkLord
High quality granite
Drakhma
69thStPepper
usernamethatsnottaken
CaldariBob
Ea-Nasir actually delivered, even if his copper was sub-standard!
Zetor
Calm down, George
Rainbowdaesh
Welcome back ea-nasirovich
OmnipotentBeing
Doing business with the clowns in Russia is a bit risky these days.
CleverGroom
Keep in mind that China and aligned powers like Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela do all kinds of shifty, weird things to work around sanctions. Russia's killing Ukrainians with North Korean bombs powered by US-manufactured chips thanks to their creative exploits.
Not saying that's what's going on here, but not all of the stupid shit they do is actually stupid. If nothing else, it could simply be a way to send cash assistance to Russia or launder payment for another, illegal deal.
AlwaysUpvotesCatgirls
A bit Ruski you say?
flashboredom
Since 1987 at least: "Buffett remembered trying to retrieve drills and rigs from the region. "They said if we sent in the people to get out the equipment, not only would the equipment not get out, but the people wouldn't get out," he said."
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-russia-ukraine-threats-violence-asset-seizure-2022-2
geoffreyfourmyle
"Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas (before being pushed out of a skyscraper window)."
NeverDownvoteMelBrooks
Surprise flying lesson