Poland’s Orlen lost at least $230m in a crypto-funded hunt for Venezuelan oil

The Financial Times reconstructs how Orlen Trading Switzerland, an arm of Poland’s state-backed energy group, tried to exploit a six-month relaxation of US sanctions on Venezuela. In late 2023 it agreed to buy six million barrels of Merey crude for $345mn from Dubai-based Hannon International and advanced more than $230mn.

Hannon then tried to source the oil through layers of intermediaries. Its founder says large amounts of Tether’s USDT were handed over on USB sticks in Caracas restaurants; brokers took funds while the promised crude failed to appear. The FT found that only about 500,000 barrels of lower-value fuel oil were delivered. Hannon says $132mn went to two brokers for little return and another $54mn disappeared into fees and other attempts; it says it retained no commission.

Polish prosecutors have charged former OTS head Samer Awad and other executives with criminal mismanagement. Orlen’s new leadership estimates the wider episode cost $424mn; arbitration continues, and the accused and counterparties dispute parts of the record.

Crypto did not merely provide a payment rail—it removed ordinary banking checkpoints and made recovery harder inside an already opaque sanctions trade. The deeper failure was governance: large prepayments, thin counterparty due diligence and pressure to move during a temporary policy window concentrated risk before any oil arrived.