Orlen loses $230 million when buying Venezuelan oil with USDT
Orlen is Poland’s largest state-owned energy group. One of its subsidiaries ordered 6 million barrels of oil from Venezuela and paid an advance of $230 million.
Since the U.S. is imposing sanctions on Venezuela, the seller required payment in USDT instead of a normal bank transfer to avoid having the banks block the transactions. After receiving the money, the Venezuelan side delivered only about 500,000 barrels of oil—less than 1/10 of the quantity that had been ordered.
Then the contract was canceled in March 2024. The incident prompted Poland to open an investigation, with estimated damages of $378 million. By August 2026, three former executives involved were indicted and could face prison sentences of up to 25 years.
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Orlen is Poland’s largest state-owned energy group. One of its subsidiaries ordered 6 million barrels of oil from Venezuela and paid an advance of $230 million.
Since the U.S. is imposing sanctions on Venezuela, the seller required payment in USDT instead of a normal bank transfer to avoid having the banks block the transactions. After receiving the money, the Venezuelan side delivered only about 500,000 barrels of oil—less than 1/10 of the quantity that had been ordered.
Then the contract was canceled in March 2024. The incident prompted Poland to open an investigation, with estimated damages of $378 million. By August 2026, three former executives involved were indicted and could face prison sentences of up to 25 years.
$ARB
$LSK
$SYN
