We provide lender-ready capital raise packaging and debt or equity placement support for business owners and buyers looking to secure serious term sheets and close funding on a defined timeline.
For business owners and acquirers pursuing private debt or equity, submit your deal for review. We revert within one working day with next steps and either a quote for our services.
We see this every day. Someone reaches out thinking they finally found the trade of a lifetime, a gold supplier in Africa offering a massive discount. They are excited, they are already spending the profit in their head, and they want Trade Finance for a small “last mile” cost. When we show them the deal is fake, they do not argue with the facts. They argue with reality.
A US buyer submitted a Trade Finance request for a gold transaction allegedly based in Uganda. The pitch was simple. A seller offered 402 kilograms of gold nuggets or doré at USD 45,000 per kilogram. The buyer believed spot was around USD 145,000 per kilogram and saw a profit of USD 40 million plus. The buyer requested USD 50,000 to cover “smelting costs, travel expenses, etc.”
“Patrick is selling me 402 kilograms of gold nuggets at $45,000 per kilogram. Spot is $145,000 per kilogram.”
“The agreement is that I will pay to smelt the gold into bars. It costs $100 per kilogram. I just need $50,000.”
| Item | What the buyer believed | What the numbers actually say |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | 402 kg | Institutional scale, not a casual side deal |
| Offer price | USD 45,000 per kg | Total purchase price: USD 18.09M |
| Spot reference | USD 145,000 per kg | Implied market value: USD 58.29M |
| Implied arbitrage | USD 40.20M profit | The “profit” exists only because of the discount story |
| Smelting cost | USD 100 per kg | 402 x 100 = USD 40,200, then rounded into a USD 50,000 request |
That is the moment common sense should slam the brakes. A seller does not donate USD 40 million of value on a single lot, then ask a stranger for money to “process” it. If 402 kg existed, it would clear through established buyer channels at a price anchored to benchmark markets such as the LBMA Gold Price. If you want to sanity check how local quotes track spot and FX, compare live country pricing pages for Uganda , Ghana , and Nigeria. There is no “Africa discount” for commercial lots.
The file included a Safe Keeping Receipt from a local security and storage provider, with a tracking number and language that is designed to sound official. This is common. Scammers know the buyer wants something they can forward to a friend, a lender, or themselves at 2 a.m. to feel safe.
The problem is that a receipt is not a market, not ownership, not assay, not export authority, and not a settlement path. It is paper designed to push you toward the first payment.
After we explain why this cannot be financed and why the market does not exist, the buyer often reaches for a final argument. It sounds confident, but it is pure denial dressed up as logic.
“The seller can price the gold however they want.”
A person can write any number on a page. That does not create a commercial market. A market is what clears repeatedly with real counterparties, real money, and verifiable settlement. Commercial gold clears against benchmark pricing, with only minor adjustments for measurable factors like purity, processing, logistics, security, and settlement risk. That is why there is no such thing as “discount gold” as a category you can shop for.
Here is the part that ends the fantasy. For a mine or a supply network to produce hundreds of kilos, there must be funding. Equipment, labour, fuel, security, transport, processing, and compliance are not paid with hope. Someone funds that chain, and they expect repayment at market, quickly.
Large output tends to be tied to prepayments, buyer networks, or offtake relationships. Whoever financed production is not waiting around for a random buyer to negotiate a massive discount.
Real flows have verification and settlement steps. Scam pitches avoid those steps because independent verification turns the “discount” into a punchline.
If you want a policy-level view of why gold supply chains attract heavy scrutiny, and why serious counterparties care about due diligence, see the OECD discussion on illicit flows of gold concentrates. Compliance pressure is real, and it is one more reason why imaginary discount deals do not clear in legitimate markets.
The “smelting cost” is not an operational detail. It is the opening move. Advance-fee fraud works by extracting an upfront payment for something that never arrives, then escalating with new requirements. Official sources describe this pattern clearly, including the FBI guidance on common frauds and scams , the SEC Investor.gov explanation of advance-fee fraud , and the UK’s Take Five overview of payment in advance fraud.
| Step | What they call it | What it really is |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smelting cost, travel, logistics | The first payment that tests whether you will pay |
| 2 | Export permit, customs fee, tax clearance | A second payment after you are emotionally committed |
| 3 | Security escort, airport storage, fast-track processing | Endless escalation until you stop paying |
If a deal’s entire profit is a giant discount, the market is dead on arrival. If the transaction requires upfront money to unlock the goods, it is a fee trap. If the seller’s defense is “we can price it however we want,” that is not commerce, it is indoctrination.
If you want a real baseline on what Trade Finance looks like when there is an actual transaction underneath it, start with our explanation of what Trade Finance is , then review How It Works and our procedure. If you cannot produce a lender-grade file, there is nothing to finance.
No. Gold is priced off global benchmarks and commercial lots clear through established buyer networks. Local quotes follow spot and FX. You can sanity-check that by comparing live country pricing pages for Ghana , Uganda , and Nigeria , then anchoring to the LBMA benchmark.
Because it feels small next to a fake eight-figure profit. That is the hook. Once the first payment is made, new requirements appear and the buyer is pressured to keep going.
If the profit comes from a massive discount, it is not a market. If the “next step” is paying a fee to unlock gold, it is not a transaction. It is a payment-in-advance setup.
If you have a real commercial contract and need Trade Finance, submit your transaction for an initial feasibility review.
Request Trade Finance SupportDisclaimer: This page is for general information only. It does not constitute legal, tax, regulatory, investment, or credit advice. Financely is not a bank, insurer, broker-dealer, or investment adviser. Any financing is provided solely by third-party counterparties under their own approvals and documentation. All engagements are subject to eligibility, KYC and AML review, sanctions screening, credit approval, and execution of formal agreements.
Financely advises growth-focused businesses on accessing capital by introducing their opportunities to professional investors. Financely is not a securities broker or dealer. Where appropriate, engagements are coordinated with regulated broker-dealers, investment banks, legal counsel, and other specialists.
Financely does not solicit, offer, or accept orders to buy or sell securities and makes no assurance regarding capital-raising outcomes.
Services are strictly business-to-business. Financely does not provide personal finance, consumer credit, or retail advisory services.
Advisory services are reserved for post-revenue companies that recognize the time and resources required for professional underwriting.
To proceed,
request a quote
and receive indicative commercial terms. If you require guidance before engaging,
book a paid telephone consultation.
Security notice: we are aware of third parties using Financely’s name without authorization. Only emails sent from our official domains and communications through our portal are valid. Please verify any outreach before sharing documents or sending payments, and read our impersonation warning.
All mandates start with an RFQ. We review submissions, issue a brief Go/No-Go memo, and where bankable, release a Term Sheet that leads to funding. We arrange capital across Senior Secured, Unitranche, Second Lien/Mezzanine, Preferred Equity, and Gap Solutions. We do not process deals by email or chat.
Letters of Credit, Standby LCs, Confirmations, Receivables Finance, and Inventory Lines with control.
Funding arranged for trade flows with instruments sized to your cycle and aligned to delivery and settlement.
Move forward to secure working capital and keep goods moving. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting for funding.
Limited or non-recourse structures for energy and infrastructure with lender-ready materials.
Funding solutions aligned to project cash flows with credible covenants and conditions to reach notice to proceed.
Advance the file to termable status. Submit the RFQ so we can underwrite and secure funding.
Debt and Preferred solutions anchored on cash flow, Quality of Earnings, and clear closing mechanics.
Funding across senior, unitranche, and preferred to match stable cash flows and acquisition timelines.
Get financed on workable terms for closing. Submit the RFQ to start underwriting.
Acquisition, development, bridge, and refinance with lender-ready packs and third-party reports managed.
Funding calibrated to DSCR, leverage, and tenancy with terms designed to close.
Move to a financeable package. Submit the RFQ to initiate underwriting for funding.
KYC and Source of Funds required. Engagements are best-efforts and subject to underwriting. Preference for operating companies with meaningful revenue. See our FAQ and Procedure.
Financely Inc. (“Financely”) provides corporate-finance advice and is wholly owned by Aurora Bay Trust, a trust formed under Bahamian law, together with its authorized affiliates. Depending on deal structure, jurisdiction, and local rules, engagements may be carried out through Financely Group LLC, a non-deposit-taking, non-banking financial company; Ashford Capital Advisory LLC; or another related entity.
Financely and its affiliates are not registered as securities broker-dealers and do not execute securities transactions or hold client funds or securities. When a mandate involves the purchase or sale of securities and a registered intermediary is required, any orders are introduced to and executed by one or more independent U.S. broker-dealers registered with the SEC and FINRA. Those broker-dealers are solely responsible for trade execution, custody, and related regulatory obligations. Nothing in this material constitutes an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any security or to engage in any specific transaction. Before engaging Financely Group LLC, Ashford Capital Advisory LLC, or any affiliate, you are responsible for confirming that such engagement complies with your own legal, regulatory, tax, and other requirements. In the United States, certain advisory activities may be conducted in reliance on exemptions available under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, including the “foreign private adviser” exemption where applicable. Our services and regulatory status may vary by jurisdiction and by transaction type.
Click
here to download our brochure.
