$230 Million Oil Deal Gone Wrong: Tether's USDT Stablecoin at Center

Poland's largest energy giant Orlen Trading Services lost $230 million in an oil trade deal with Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA due to the use of Tether's USDT stablecoin, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The transaction involved Samer Awad, a former executive at Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS), who orchestrated the deal to acquire 6 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil in November 2023. Orlen sent an advance payment of $230 million to Hannon International Middle East, the Dubai-based seller, on December 4, 2023.

Hannon then obtained $80 million USDT from a Dubai-based financial services company and paid a commission of $400,000. However, it claimed that only $85 million was received in USDT, leaving a shortfall of $50 million. The funds were then transferred through various intermediaries, with Orlen ultimately receiving about $28.8 million worth of oil.

David McCoy, managing partner at ADG Legal Abu Dhabi, representing Hannon, stated that 'Hannon became involved in the transaction at Orlen's request' and was not responsible for its failure.