A Roswell businessman returned home last week and said he was detained in Ho Chi Minh City for 10 days by Vietnamese authorities because of a commercial dispute involving a Vietnamese trading company.
Tony Laremore, chief executive officer of Concepts Asia, Ltd., told Globalfax that his passport was seized on Wednesday, April 12 because of a dispute he had with AVICO, Ltd, concerning a shipment of water purification equipment, and that he was not permitted to leave the country until Saturday, April 22.
According to Mr. Laremore, AVICO Ltd. refused to claim the equipment which had been ordered and sent in December 1994.
He said that he was not released until he had $20,000 wired to the Ministry of Interior, and that the Vietnamese GOVERNMENT ordered him to pay an additional $40,000 upon his return to the U.S.
Mr. Laremore said that he has filed suit against the California offices of the company seeking the return of the $20,000 and that he has no intention of paying the $40,000.
“This is not an isolated incident,” an obviously disgruntled Mr. Laremore added, charging that there have been other instances “where American business people have been hassled, extorted, and even imprisoned over simple business disputes with Vietnamese companies.”
For further information, Mr. Laremore may be reached by calling (404) 587?5173; fax (404) 993?2255.