How We Work
Twenty Arms structures and executes physical commodity transactions for buyers and sellers across the CIS, Europe, MENA, West Africa, and Asia. We move product. We are not a broker introduction service and we do not work on retainer.
Every deal we close runs through the same architecture: documented counterparties, an executed SPA, independent inspection at loadport, and payment against verified shipping documents. The sequence below is the standard we hold to. It exists to protect commercial position on both sides and to give compliance teams a clean audit trail.
The Transaction Sequence
1. Enquiry and Qualification
A buyer or seller approaches us with a commodity, tonnage, origin or destination, and an Incoterms basis. We come back within one to two business days with a feasibility view. Before any commercial paper is issued, both sides exchange company registration, director identification, and, where requested, a bank reference. Counterparties that cannot or will not produce these documents do not move past this stage.
2. Term Sheet and NCNDA
Once feasibility is confirmed, Twenty Arms issues a non-binding term sheet covering specification, tonnage, price basis, Incoterms, inspection, payment, and delivery window. An NCNDA is executed by every intermediary in the chain before the term sheet is circulated. No exceptions, no oral side-letters.
3. SPA and IMFPA
A full Sale and Purchase Agreement is drafted between principal buyer and principal seller and signed in counterpart. Governing law is English or Canadian; arbitration sits with the LCIA or the ICC. In parallel, the IMFPA is executed to lock the commission position of every authorised intermediary on the deal. Commission terms are not disclosed inside the SPA. The IMFPA is its own contract, between the principals and the intermediaries.
4. Inspection at Loadport
The seller presents product for inspection at the agreed loading point. SGS, Bureau Veritas, or Intertek is appointed as the inspecting authority. The inspection covers quantity, quality, packing, and marking against SPA specification. Twenty Arms does not call payment until the report is issued and accepted by the buyer. Inspection comes before money. That is the rule, and it is not negotiable on our deals.
5. Payment
The buyer settles against verified shipping documents and the inspection certificate. We work with MT103 wire, LC at sight, and documentary collection, depending on what the parties agree at SPA stage. Twenty Arms banks with CIBC in Canada. Banking details are confirmed only by signed addendum to the SPA, on Twenty Arms letterhead, signed by our authorised signatory. Anything else, regardless of how it arrives, is not us.
6. Shipment and Title
Product loads, bills of lading issue, title passes at the contractual point. Original documents are couriered or transmitted electronically to the buyer or to the buyer’s bank, depending on the payment method. The deal closes when the buyer takes the cargo and the documents reconcile.
What We Do Not Do
Most fraud in this market dresses itself up as a deal. The list below is what a legitimate counterparty should never see from a trading house, and what Twenty Arms will not do under any framing or any pressure:
- Request advance fees, deposits, or “compliance payments” before inspection.
- Issue or accept MT760 or MT799 blocking instruments as a condition of supply.
- Accept payment into personal accounts, third-party accounts, or any account not registered to Twenty Arms Inc.
- Allow payment to be released before SGS inspection is signed off.
- Work with intermediaries who are not named on a signed NCNDA and IMFPA.
- Send a full Proof of Product package to a buyer that has not signed an NDA and demonstrated capability.
If you have received a message claiming to be from Twenty Arms requesting any of the above, treat it as fraudulent and write to trading@twentyarms.com so we can confirm.
Banking and Compliance
Twenty Arms Inc. is incorporated in Canada and banks with CIBC. All counterparties pass standard KYC and AML review before SPA execution. We reserve the right to withdraw from any transaction where the documentation does not stand up, or where the structure of the deal does not stand up. We do not refund advance fees, because we do not take them.
To Open a File
Write to trading@twentyarms.com with your commodity, tonnage, origin or destination, and Incoterms basis. Attach company registration. We respond within one business day.