Poland faces $378M loss case over failed Venezuela oil deal

Poland has been drawn into a $378 million criminal case over failed Venezuelan oil contracts after new reporting traced part of a $230 million payment through $USDT.

The FT reported on Sept. 15 that Orlen Trading Switzerland, the Swiss trading arm of Poland’s state-controlled energy group Orlen, agreed in late 2023 to purchase roughly six million barrels of Venezuelan Merey 16 crude in a transaction valued near $345 million. OTS advanced approximately $230 million through Dubai-based Hannon International, with much of the money reportedly converted into Tether’s $USDT as brokers attempted to arrange payment inside Venezuela.

Polish authorities are examining a larger set of transactions. Warsaw prosecutors indicted three former managers on Aug. 7 over three oil contracts signed between August and December 2023, alleging their decisions caused $378 million, or around PLN 1.5 billion, in damage to Orlen and OTS. The defendants could face sentences of up to 25 years if convicted.

Poland’s oil deal sent $330 million through Dubai firms

The Venezuelan trade involved more than the $230 million payment now linked to Hannon. Reuters reported in 2024 that OTS sent a combined $330 million to two Dubai-based intermediaries, with Hannon receiving approximately $230 million and Horizon Global receiving another $100 million.

Venezuela’s state oil producer PDVSA did not receive the expected money, according to the Reuters investigation. Sources familiar with the transactions said the producer therefore did not allocate the crude cargoes that OTS expected to collect. Tankers chartered for the trade spent time waiting near Venezuela before leaving without the planned shipments.

The FT’s later investigation provided new detail on the $230 million Hannon leg. Its reporting said much of the payment was “largely transferred as Tether ($USDT)” through a series of intermediaries. The report described traders moving information needed to conduct digital-asset transactions while attempting to complete payments to Venezuelan brokers.

The available reporting does not establish that cryptocurrency itself caused the commercial loss. Investigators are examining the contracts, counterparties, supervision and flow of funds, while the criminal charges concern alleged failures by executives to protect Orlen’s assets when the agreements were approved.

OTS ultimately received only a limited amount of petroleum product from the planned Venezuelan purchase, according to the FT. The bulk of the six million barrels covered by the contract did not arrive, while chartered tankers generated extra costs as they waited for cargo.

$USDT became part of Venezuela’s oil payment system

The use of $USDT in the Orlen transaction came during a period when Venezuela was increasing its use of cryptocurrency in oil sales.

As crypto.news previously reported, PDVSA began moving more crude and fuel transactions toward $USDT as U.S. sanctions complicated access to conventional banking channels. Venezuelan oil officials said at the time that contracts could use different currencies and that cryptocurrency could be preferred in certain transactions.

Reuters had reported in April 2024 that PDVSA was gradually moving oil transactions toward Tether and had begun requiring some new customers to hold cryptocurrency in digital wallets. Sources told the publication that the company was requesting 50% prepayment in $USDT for some spot cargoes as U.S. restrictions returned.

For trading firms, such structures could involve additional intermediaries because some established financial institutions would not process the payment routes required by PDVSA. The reported use of intermediaries does not by itself establish illegal conduct, and each transaction remains subject to its own sanctions, compliance and contractual circumstances.

Venezuela’s reliance on $USDT has continued expanding outside oil transactions. Binance’s Venezuelan peer-to-peer market processed an estimated 1.389 billion $USDT between June 11 and July 13, 2026, based on data from Ecoanalítica. The estimate concerns domestic P2P activity and is unrelated to the Orlen criminal proceedings.

Poland’s prosecutors put alleged damage at $378 million

Poland’s official loss figure is lower than some recent estimates of the total cost of the affair.

The Aug. 7 indictment states that three unfavorable crude contracts caused $378 million in alleged damage, equivalent to approximately PLN 1.5 billion. Prosecutors charged former Orlen board member Michał R., former OTS board member Marcin O., and former Orlen and OTS executive Filip W.

According to the filing, prosecutors allege the men acted jointly by failing to carry out supervisory duties and protect the interests of Orlen and its subsidiaries. The charges remain allegations and have not been proven in court. One defendant faces a separate accusation related to allegedly concealing assets from potential seizure.

The Polish Internal Security Agency, or ABW, said investigators carried out searches, questioned witnesses, reviewed documents and secured assets belonging to suspects during the investigation. The agency confirmed that the indictment concerns contracts entered into between August and December 2023.

The often-cited figure of roughly $424 million refers to a wider estimate. The FT calculated a higher overall cost after taking into account expenses beyond the alleged contract losses, including shipping and legal costs. Polish prosecutors have not adopted $424 million as the damage figure in the criminal indictment.

The distinction is important for reporting the case accurately: $378 million is the loss alleged by prosecutors, while approximately $424 million is a broader estimate that includes related costs.

Former OTS chief remains in separate extradition case

The criminal proceedings against the three indicted former managers do not cover former OTS chief Samer A., whose case remains separate.

Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office said Samer was detained in the United Arab Emirates in January 2025 after authorities sought him through an Interpol Red Notice. The proceedings against him concern the same group of contracts that prosecutors say caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

The August indictment confirms that Polish authorities are still seeking his extradition from the UAE. Prosecutors separated his case from the proceedings against the other three defendants because the extradition process had not been completed.

The ABW said its investigation into Samer remains active even though the other three defendants have now been sent for trial.

Polish investigators initially placed the suspected losses connected to Samer and other executives at approximately $370 million before refining the figure to $378 million in later proceedings. The current indictment uses the $378 million figure for the three contracts covered by the case.

The defendants indicted in August could each face up to 25 years in prison under the charges filed by the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office. Samer’s case will proceed separately if the UAE extradition process results in his return to Poland.