The incident began in November 2023 when the head of Orlen Trading Switzerland met a Hong Kong trader in Abu Dhabi. They signed an agreement for the purchase of 6 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil for $345 million. Orlen transferred $230 million within five days without collateral or bank guarantees.
Due to US sanctions against the Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA, the funds were converted into USDT. Brokers in Dubai facilitated the transfers, and over $132 million in USDT was delivered via USB drives in Caracas. One conversion of $135 million resulted in only $85 million, with $50 million currently held in a UAE court.
Six chartered tankers remained off the coast of Venezuela for months but never received cargo. The shipping costs reached approximately $72 million. PDVSA stated that it never received payment and did not allocate any oil to Orlen. In total, the Polish state refiner reported losses of roughly $424 million.
On August 7, 2024, Warsaw prosecutors charged three former Orlen executives with failing to protect company assets valued at 1,5 billion zloty, or $378 million. The accused face potential prison sentences of up to 25 years.
