Provides advice on how to perform due diligence and in what areas it is necessary for a U.S. company. Includes information on the U.S. Commercial Service International Company Profile service.
Benin’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIB) and the Ministry of Commerce may provide information on companies doing business in Benin to verify their bona fides.  Embassy Cotonou’s Economic and Commercial section frequently encounters U.S. businesses and individuals targeted by “419” cases, so-named after the section of Nigeria’s Criminal Code dealing with economic crimes.  Attempts are made to defraud victims using a variety of scams, which often request funds, or bank account information, to expedite a supposed commercial transaction.  Examples of these scams have included falsified goods, orders ostensibly from the Beninese government, non-governmental organizations, or charitable organizations, and bogus orders for quantities of computers, cellular phones, or frozen poultry.  Unsolicited emails or approaches along these lines should be verified through the Embassy’s Economic-Commercial section.  Similarly, requests for a large, up-front “registration fee” ostensibly required by the Beninese government or courts have been used to swindle exporters.  To order an International Company Profile (ICP) service in Benin, U.S. exporters may contact their nearest Export Assistance Center in the United States.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.