Orlen Loses $424 Million on Venezuela Oil Deal After USDT Payments
A $424 million deal between Poland's state-controlled refiner Orlen and Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA went catastrophically wrong, resulting in three former executives facing criminal charges. The agreement was struck on a yacht during the Formula 1 weekend in Abu Dhabi in November 2023.
Orlen's Swiss unit agreed to buy 6 million barrels of Merey 16, Venezuela's cheap heavy crude, for $345 million. Within five days, it wired $230 million, with no collateral or bank guarantee provided.
The USDT payments were made through brokers in Dubai, and more than $132 million was handed over inside Caracas hotels and restaurants on USB drives. However, the oil never arrived, and the shipping bill alone came to about $72 million.
PDVSA claims it never saw a cent from Orlen, stating that 'it had not been paid.'