A chartered tanker fleet of Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS) was forced to turn back from Venezuelan waters without carrying a single drop of crude oil. The subsidiary of Polish state-owned energy group Orlen incurred commercial losses of up to $378 million, or around 1.5 billion zlotys, following the collapse of a procurement deal in late 2023.
What initially appeared to be a purely logistical failure triggered an in-depth criminal investigation when the payment route was found to involve crypto assets.
Transit in Dubai, Converted to Crypto
Deal documents show that OTS agreed to purchase approximately six million barrels of Merey 16 crude oil for a total of $345 million. To secure cargo allocation, the Polish company sent a $230 million advance payment through Hannon International, an intermediary entity based in Dubai.
According to a Financial Times report on September 15, 2026, brokers converted and moved most of the $230 million advance payment into the Tether (USDT) stablecoin just as they attempted to complete the transaction chain in Venezuela.
The multimillion-dollar transfer never landed in the accounts of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA. The lack of inbound funds led PDVSA to cancel the cargo allocation, leaving the chartered OTS tanker fleet, which had already docked, to return empty-handed.
Facing 25 Years in Prison
Warsaw public prosecutors responded to the loss of state funds by indicting three former top executives of OTS. The trio was accused of dereliction of duty and failing to safeguard corporate assets, charges that carry up to 25 years in prison if convicted in court.
Investigators emphasized that the disappearance of the funds was purely the result of managerial failures, not vulnerabilities in crypto technology. The probe detailed that the losses stemmed from a lack of due diligence, the use of high-risk third-party intermediary chains, and lax executive contract governance.
Throughout this case, crypto merely served as an intermediary medium for value transfer - the initial decisions driving the loss originated from the negligence of corporate officials.
Reported by crypto.news.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
