5 Red Flags of a "Shell Factory"

Shell companies are the primary vehicle for Transshipment. Chinese entities set up a paper company in Vietnam to issue "Made in Vietnam" documents for goods that never touched a Vietnamese production line.

1. The "Commercial Office" Address

Real factories are in Industrial Parks (KCN) or zones with "Lot/Plot" addresses. If your supplier's registered address is a suite in a Ho Chi Minh City office tower (e.g., Bitexco, Vincom Center), they are a trader, not a maker.

2. Low Charter Capital

Manufacturing requires machinery. If a supplier claims to export $1M/month but has a Charter Capital (Vốn điều lệ) of only 100 Million VND (~$4,000 USD), it is financially impossible for them to own the necessary equipment.

3. The "Nominee" Director

Shell networks often use the same "Legal Representative" across 20+ unrelated companies. ChainVetter's graph analysis detects when a Director is "Over-Indexed" (appearing on too many boards).

4. Age of Entity

"Burner" companies are often created less than 12 months before a major shipment and dissolved shortly after. Be wary of any supplier founded after the UFLPA enactment (June 2022) with no prior history.

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