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Two other countries had earned a reputation of asking few questions about where the presented End User Certificate really came from. One was Spain, traditionally interested in earning foreign currency, and whose CETME factories produced a wide range of weapons, which were then sold by the Spanish Army Ministry to almost all comers. The other, a newcomer, was Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia had begun manufacturing her own arms only a few years earlier and inevitably had reached a point where her own armed forces were equipped with domestic arms. The next step was overproduction (because factories ca
Because the goods were new, Sha
For the first of his orders (the 400,000 rounds of 9mm. ammunition), Sha
Normally there is no point in going to an unlicensed dealer. Unless he can fulfill the order out of illegally held stocks of his own, which means no export license, his only use can be in securing a bent but plausible End User Certificate for those who ca
When he arrived in the Hansa city, Sha
Joha
Sha
The German flicked through it and handed it back. “And what brings you here?” he asked.
“You were recommended to me, Herr Schlinker, as a businessman with a high reputation for reliability in the business of military and police hardware.”
Schlinker smiled and nodded, but the flattery made no impression. “By whom, may I ask?”
Sha
Schlinker raised his eyebrows. “Would you excuse me a minute?” he asked and left the room. In an adjoining booth Sha
It was thirty minutes before Schlinker came back. He was smiling. “I had to call a friend of mine in Paris on a business matter,” he said brightly. “Please go on.”
Sha
“I want to buy a quantity of nine-mm. ammunition,” he said bluntly. “I know it is a small order, but I have been approached by a group of people in Africa who need this ammunition for their own affairs, and I believe if those affairs go well there would be further and much larger shipments in the future.”
“How much would the order be?” asked the German.
“Four hundred thousand rounds.”
Schlinker made a moue. “That is not very much,” he said simply.
“Certainly. For the moment the budget is not large. One is hoping a small investment now might lead to greater things later on.”
The German nodded. It had happened in the past. “The first order is usually a small one. ”Why did they come to you? You are not ’a dealer in arms or ammunition."
“They happened to have retained me as a technical adviser on military matters of all kinds. When the question of seeking a fresh supplier for their needs arose, they asked me to come to Europe for them,” said Sha
“And you have no End User Certificate?” the German asked.
“No, I’m afraid not. I hoped that sort of thing could be arranged.”
“Oh, yes, it can,” said Schlinker. “No problem there. It takes longer and costs more. But it can be done. One could supply this order from stocks, but they are held in my Vie
“I would prefer the latter,” said Sha
Schlinker smiled. Privately he knew there would be no danger of that, but Sha
Sha
“I think you are perhaps right,” Schlinker said at last. “Very well. I can offer you nine-mm. standard ball at sixty-five dollars per thousand. There would be a surcharge of ten per cent for the certificate, and another ten per cent free on board.”
Sha
“How would payment be made?” he asked.
“I would need the fifty-two hundred dollars before starting work,” said Schlinker. “That has to cover the certificate, which has to be paid for, plus all personal traveling and administrative costs. The full purchase price would have to be paid here in this office when I am able to show you the certificate, but before purchase. As a licensed dealer I would be buying on behalf of my client, the government named on the certificate. Once the stuff had been bought, the selling government would be extremely unlikely to take it back and repay the money. Therefore I would need total payment in advance. I would also need the name of the exporting vessel, to fill in the application for export permit. The vessel would have to be a scheduled liner or freighter, or a general freighter owned by a registered shipping company.”