Orlen–Venezuela oil deals and crypto payment scrutiny

A scandal surrounding PKN Orlen and its Swiss trading arm, Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS), combines large prepaid oil purchases, missing shipments, Dubai intermediaries and a crypto trail. Reporting shows that in late 2023 OTS agreed to buy roughly six million barrels of Venezuelan Merey 16 crude and by December 4, 2023 it wired about $230 million to Dubai-based Hannon International Middle East DMCC. Another approximately $100 million was paid to a second Dubai intermediary, Horizon Global, making roughly $330 million routed through those firms. Only a small fraction of the contracted oil was ultimately delivered; OTS reportedly received about $28.8 million of product, leaving the bulk of the cargo undelivered.

Loss estimates and formal charges diverge depending on scope. Warsaw prosecutors’ August 7 indictment ties three failed contracts to $378 million (about PLN 1.5 billion) in alleged damage and charges three former managers with negligent supervision; each faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Broader calculations that include demurrage, idle VLCC costs and related expenses raise the total damage figure to roughly $424 million (about PLN 1.6 billion). The idled very large crude carriers reportedly accrued roughly $72 million in demurrage and logistics costs.

Crypto activity is central to investigators’ scrutiny. Financial Times reporting and subsequent coverage traced much of the $230 million Hannon payment into Tether (USDT) stablecoins, moved through intermediaries and, according to one account, ultimately handed over on USB drives containing wallet keys in Caracas hotel lobbies. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA reportedly did not receive corresponding payments from the transaction; the use of USDT fits a broader shift in Venezuela toward stablecoins for oil transactions during periods when U.S. sanctions complicated conventional banking. Authorities are examining contracts, counterparties and the flow of funds; available reporting does not by itself establish that cryptocurrency use caused the commercial losses.

A separate extradition-related proceeding concerns former OTS chief Samer A., detained in the UAE in January 2025 on an Interpol notice; his case remains distinct from the August indictment against the three other executives. Investigators have conducted searches, seized assets and questioned witnesses as they seek to clarify how hundreds of millions of dollars moved through intermediaries, into digital assets, and why most of the contracted crude never arrived.