Full Question
A Chinese supplier has cheated us of US$42, 500 to buy pipes from him. As per their quote and request we transferred money by TT (electronic transfer) in to their company account in December 2011 but as of today, he has not sent the material nor has he refunded our money. We complained to the China Consulate in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia about this cheating, but they replied that there are many cheating cases from Chinese suppliers. Kindly advise us about what can we do and where we can complain about this supplier.

Answer
First off, next time you place an order, please do two things:

1. Conduct an audit to confirm the supplier is legit before you give a Purchase Order.
2. Conduct a product inspection before you make final payment.

Here are some videos that explain those options.

Evaluating suppliers

Project management and quality control

Returning to the problem at hand, I think your best option is to get a collections agency involved and/or work with a local lawyer to issue a demand letter. The money in question is substantial, so be sure to have that you have a clear record of PO/Contract/Bank payment to a Chinese business.