I've known these Somalian guys, as my neighbors, for about 2 years. I know them, they know me - we BBQ chicken, goat-meat, whatever.... and, I've given them the "silver talk" on multiple occasions. So, this guy, "Kayce Omar," shows up tonight. He's not a regular part of thieir crowd, but I have seen him around my apartments for about a year, or more. He's a "legit" Somalian immigrant. His citizenship papers get stamped in 2 weeks - so he says. We actually have to use my Somalian frieind, Delmar, to translate the majority of this coversation - so there's not really any room for B.S. The interpreter, Delmar, is your basic "family man:" a wife, 4 kids, and works two jobs to make ends meet - and I've known him to be an honest, hard-working guy for the 2 years that I have known him.
Here's my issue that I need help with: Kayce says his family has been in the Northern Somalian mountialns for about 200 years - mining rubies, primarily. However, gold and silver are also - according to him - significant byproducts of their operations. So, now that Kayce-Omar has immigrated to the U.S., he is looking for a way to bring in their precious metals to the U.S., legally. And, apparently, that requires some kind of a license. And, they would like to trade/sell their raw materials for U.S. dollars.
We have a very tentative deal set up, at the present moment. I figure out how to acquire the license - and pay for it - and he pays travel expenses, as the courier, to bring about 600 Kilos of silver bullion into the U.S, over the next year.
Yeah, I know - that's a lot. My main risk is that I buy them the license and then they screw me over. But, my other Somalian friends - who are only "loosely" friends with Kayce-Omar, tell me his story is legit - but they're all high. And, my deal is that I only pay for what is in front of me - AFTER I've had it assayed and tested by the local bullion store for purity. It sounds like a good deal.
One caveat here - I will definitely wait until tomorrow to "run the numbers" and check the profit margins. But, my basic idea was that the Somalians, who are acutally doing all of the "digging in the dirt" should profit, at least, twice as much as any "middle men." So, $400/kilo is their share. Whatever is left over (~$140/kilo is easily split between Kayce-Omar and myself).
Keep in mind that between myself and my family, we have all of the cash this would require to buy up to ~$3 million in silver bullion (depending on the purity, of course). Kayce-Omar would probably not be able to carry more than 50 Kilos per trip, pragmatically speaking - give or take a few kilos.
And, I don't assume ANY risk at all, until after the bullion has been assayed by the local shop - except for the cost of the license to bring it into the U.S.. And, that's the rub. I am starting "dry" on this point. How much is a license to carry precious metal bullion into the U.S. ??? I have no clue on this aspect of the proposed deal. So, I have my research cut out for me. I have 4 - 6 weeks to come up with the license. If anybody out there in the #steemsilvergold world has any direction for me to take - please lay it on me, ASAP!
600 Kilos of silver are, apparently, on the line here. Plus, whatever their monthly production rate is (which I have no clue about, at the present time). Please keep in mind that Kayce-Omar laid out several rubies and pieces of silver-ore on the table in front of my eyes tonight - so this guy seems like no B.S., especially considering the fact that he was blitzed on Budweisers, etc. this evening. He speaks little English, and is just looking to get started on his project.
We exchanged phone numbers. I'll have a slight hangover to deal with tomorrow morning. Otherwise, hopefully I will come back online here and find some guidance for my current situation - in the morning.
I figure, if the license is in the $500 - $3,500 range, it's an acceptable risk to take - or to test out. If it's more than that, I'll have to do some more serious thinking about what's going on here. Anybody have any idea about importing precious metals into the U.S.?
Any help and input is much appreciated. I know - it's not a good idea to "talk business" when you're not "in control" of your faculties. But, this was not something these guys, "sprung" on me - I brought up the whole silver/money topic, and 3/4 of the rest of the guys present weren't even interested in this converstaion, in the slightest.
Good evening and STEEM ON!!!
Update:
So, looking on the Federal Customs website, I don't see anything that would limit any amount of hand-poured silver bullion. I'm seeing that for any amount over $10,0000, of MINTED foreign or domestic coinage, there is a form that must be filled out and your "money" declared - called... well, let me just quote the website:
"...There is no duty on gold coins, medals or bullion but these items must be declared to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer. Please note a FinCEN 105 form must be completed at the time of entry for monetary instrumentsover $10,000. This includes currency, ie. gold coins, valued over $10,000. The FINCEN definition of currency: The coin and paper money of the United States or any other country that is (1) designated as legal tender and that (2) circulates and (3) is customarily accepted as a medium of exchange in the country of issuance."
So, other than declaring any silver bullion over $10,000 in value, there seems to be nothing here to indicate that hand-poured bullion needs any kind of a special license to bring into the U.S.
One thought did occur to me, however... What if there were Uranium deposits nearby??? That could be REALLY, REALLY BAD! So, I'm thinking of sending off Kayce-Omar with his very own Gieger Counter - which would set me back about $200 - $300. Otherwise, if he kept it under... 18 Kg per trip, he wouldn't even have to declare it to customs (so long as the spot price stays $16 or less).
I suppose an actual trip to the airport to discuss it with local customs officials would probably be in order - just to make sure.
Update #2: "Ogo Mountains Recreation / Outdoor Mountain Ranges Somalia 10.735847.245. The Ogo Mountains, also known as the Galgodon Highlands, are a mountain range in northern Somalia."
So, I'll test this guy on the name of the mountain-range to see if he hesitates, or not. He should know the "Ogo Mountains" off the top of his head. Otherwise...
AND... to the slight problem of getting my family to ante-up the $282,000 required for the full 600 Kg of poured silver... Or, actually, it's not going to be 100% pure, so it will be less than that.
Wish me luck. We'll probably do this in small steps... I will keep you guys posted.
Getting it through customs seems like it would be an issue. Would you ship it? Would it be in your suitcase? I mean you bring in postcards and cookies and they have to be declared with a value and you get what like $800 before they go after you for customs/duty?
There is no duty on gold coins, medals or bullion but these items must be declared to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer.
What form would the silver get here in? Like if I bring a $2000 solid silver teapot to the US I am getting taxed. Would the silver from Somalia be melted into bars? Just be blobs? Lol sorry it is early and my mind isn’t wrapping around things of this complexity yet.
I think customs is going to err on the side of taking money from you if there is any debate about what is coming into the country. I don’t know. ☺️
I don't see any issues with U.S. customs. They simply require you to fill out an IRS form, who then want an accounting when any of it is transferred to another owner (in amounts greater than $10,000) or sold and converted into U.S. Dollars - because any gains in value would then be subject to the standard 28% tax rate for collectibles.
To the best of my knowledge, they would be 1 kilo hand-poured bars. Probably pretty rough. My estimate would be they'd fall into the 90% range of purity, give or take a couple of points - but I'm not experienced with pouring melted silver or gold.
The guy did come at me later, wanting help with his ticket costs/travel expenses. Through the interpreter, I was very clear that would be a complete non-starter on the first trip. If he actually can show up with 15 kg of silver &/or gold bullion, I made it clear I'd have no problems finding buyers for all of it - within a reasonable amount of time. He seemed less interested after learning there was no help with a plane ticket to Somalia. And, we have a date set up to meet and talk about setting up a State business license and Tax ID #, tomorrow, actually. We'll see if he shows up, or not.
The logistics, on his end, seem risky. He's got to go from Somalia, by bus to Ethiopia, fly to London, then on to the U.S. There's a lot of customs between here and there - which I know nothing about. He seemed to think it would be an easier ordeal if he had an actual business already set up in the U.S. before he attempts to personally carry bullion through all of those checkpoints. Admittedly, the bus-ride through Somalia is the most dangerous part - and then customs in Eithiopia would also probably require some "fees." IDK. I honestly do not expect this guy to show up with anything.
I straight up told him that we weren't buying him a ticket to Somalia so he could go back to live with his family and we'd never see him again. So, if he does show up with some goods, we can do some serious business. Otherwise, it seems like the guy has an idea, but the world is frought with risk - which I am not personally assuming, ahead of time.
Lol,this is hilarious,,,
Why is that? Does it seem like total B.S. - the whole post. Or, is it just the entire "situation" in general???
If I told you that I was, actually, pretty "wise to scammers," via, "life experience," would it make any difference to you? I'm about... 5th generation in real-estate, in my family, and I've seen WAY more wasted people make WAY bigger deals than this. This was not some kind of a planned ambush on me - it was a natural, home-grown conversation that started in a pretty inoccuous manner. Acutally, it was more at my own prompting - and the other guy was at least as wasted as I was. IDK - maybe we're both full of it?
I suppose I should start by researching if there are even any mountains in northern Somalia....
The entire situation in general
Life is strange... I suppose "reality" will rear its' ugly head in the morning. :D
Run for the hills bi5h0p! Sounds shady as fuck!!!
Probably because I made it sound that way. Have you ever travelled to Africa? Honestly, if these guys are trying to scam me for the cost of a license - they probably need the money more than I do. :D I'll consider it a donation to a non-profit, and catch a tax-break.
The small license fee is just the hook. The next step is a tax or a duty or some fucking thing, then there is a lien on the hoard that mist be paid, then an associate, finally, an assayer must be paid and on it goes from there... layer after layer intil you have invested enough money that the “next and last” expense is small... but it never stops and YOU never get what was promised.
But do as you wish.
Never heard of the Nigerian and Ghana scamms ? This one looks 200% the same. My advice is to let them take a loan themselves.
If you read the post...
I'm not loaning any money. They simply needed help finding out how to import large amounts of bullion into the U.S. I found out no "license" is actually required - you simply fill out a form for anything over $10K in value (because the IRS wants it's piece of the pie, if you ever exchange it for profit, in dollars). We'd take down to the local gold/silver shop for a metallurgical assay - at which point we would determine its purity, weight, and price. I'm not really seeing a huge downside risk here.