USDT Payments Feature in Polish Energy Giant’s Failed $230M Oil Deal
Prosecutors say the managers failed to protect Orlen after a $230 million advance for six million barrels of Venezuelan crude mostly vanished.
- On Tuesday, reports revealed that a failed 2023 Venezuelan oil trade cost Orlen, Poland's largest energy giant, $230 million in advance payments made largely in Tether that failed to secure crude oil from state-owned PDVSA.
- Orlen Trading Switzerland routed the payment through Dubai-based intermediaries including Hannon International to circumvent U.S. sanctions, but most funds disappeared into a complex maze of crypto transfers rather than reaching Venezuelan producers.
- Warsaw prosecutors indicted three former managers on August 7, alleging their decisions caused $378 million in damages to Orlen and OTS; defendants face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
- Authorities detained former OTS executive Samer Awad in the United Arab Emirates in January 2025 following an Interpol Red Notice, with his separate legal proceedings concerning the same group of contracts.
- Hannon "was not responsible for the transaction's failure," David McCoy, managing partner at ADG Legal Abu Dhabi, told Cointelegraph; the company remains open to dialogue with Orlen to resolve the matter.
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This is one of the biggest financial scandals in Poland. The energy group Orlen lost nearly $230 million in trying to buy Venezuelan oil with cryptocurrency. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Warsaw is seeking to diversify its sources of supply. In an investigation, the Financial Times revealed how this operation turned into a fiasco.
Cointelegraph
The New York LedgerUSDT Payments Feature in Polish Energy Giant’s Failed $230M Oil Deal
Tether’s USDT stablecoin was among the main digital assets used in a failed oil trade that reportedly cost a Polish energy giant $230 million in late 2023.
The Polish government concert Orlen was at the center of a massive financial scandal, and the company lost $230 million in an attempt to launch an adventurous scheme for the purchase of Venezuelan oil, circumventing international sanctions.
The British newspaper "Financial Times" reported on the embezzlement of funds from the fuel giant, reporting that Orlen lost $230 million on unfavorable fuel transactions with Venezuela in 2023, involving its subsidiary OTS. The funds have not yet been recovered. Some of the transactions were made in the cryptocurrency tether (USDT). The prosecutor's office announced that it has again requested the extradition of Samer A., the then-head of OTS, …
Polish oil company Orlen has been trying to replace lost Saudi imports by purchasing crude from the North Sea and other sources in recent days, Reuters has learned from five industry sources. We will also cover similar topics at our Portfolio Investment Day conference on October 21. One of the biggest investment events of the year is coming, where professional experts will tell you what is worth investing in now. Register here.
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