Bangladesh blacklists Seduka

It's hard to imagine one of the world's largest retail exporters blacklisting any company in the United States, but nothing is outside of the realm of possibility. Seduka Jeans Inc. has been blacklisted by the Bangladesh Garment and Manufacturers Association, Bangladesh being the world's second largest retail exporter. The decision was made after a request from the foreign exchange policy department of the Bangladesh bank.

“This is a fraudulent company. They have not paid their dues to the producers and that’s why it has been blacklisted,” BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim told bdnews24.com. If there was ever a prime example of an attempt at exploitation it is Seduka's approach to Bangladesh. Bangladesh was not going to take Seduka's behavior lying down, however.

Seduka in hot water with BGMEA

By blacklisting Seduka, it will now be impossible for them to take advantage of any producers in Bangladesh. The major grievance with Seduka is that they have reportedly sourced apparel from a Bangladeshi company without paying for it, a grave offense for very obvious reasons. The Bangladesh Bank had investigated the matter after the exporter complained.

In 2013, an LC (a Letter of Credit that is a written commitment to payment) was opened by Excelsior Garments with the state owned Sonali Bank against a buying order from Seduka Jeans Inc. To date, Seduka has paid 25,321 dollars and 25 cents, which is less than the committed amount of 48,816 dollars. Bangladesh's list of grievances does not stop with Seduka jeans, however.

“Not only Seduka, we are also going to blacklist another US retailer Fill Jeans as they have cheated our manufacturers,” Azim said. According to Azim, Seduka Jeans committed fraud with Excelsior Garments Ltd. while Fill Jeans did the same with Pantaloon Jeans Ltd. Both U.S. retailers have local aides in Bangladesh. The BGMEA vice president said some local clearing and forwarding agents and buying houses are aiding such fraudulence activities by foreign buyers. “We have requested the NBR chairman to identify such clearing and forwarding agencies and scrap their licenses,” he added.

A rep for Seduka jeans has declined to comment on the accusations by BGMEA. As the world's second largest apparel sourcing company, Bangladesh perhaps wasn't the best country to anger, so, Seduka is certainly in a troubled place. However this event transpires, they will have to work very hard to rebuild their business relationship with Bangladesh before their company suffers.