USDT Payments At Center Of Failed $230 Million Oil Deal, FT Reports

Tether’s USDT stablecoin played a key role in a failed Venezuelan oil trade that reportedly cost Poland’s largest energy company $230 million in late 2023, according to a Financial Times investigation.

How The Deal Fell Apart

The trade involved a former executive at a trading subsidiary of Polish energy giant Orlen, who arranged to buy 6 million barrels of Venezuelan crude from state oil company PDVSA, which had begun demanding partial payment in USDT to work around U.S. sanctions. Orlen sent a $230 million advance to a Dubai-based seller in December 2023, which then approached various crypto brokers and intermediaries to convert funds into USDT. Much of that money reportedly vanished across a complex chain of crypto transfers, with Orlen ultimately receiving only around $29 million worth of oil before canceling the contract.

Funds Traced Through Multiple Intermediaries

According to the report, funds moved through several Dubai-based firms, with discrepancies emerging between amounts sent and amounts received in USDT. Some funds were reportedly delivered to brokers in Caracas via USB drives containing tens of millions of dollars in USDT. A small partial oil shipment eventually arrived in March 2024 before the contract was terminated. Legal representatives for the Dubai based seller said the company was acting at Orlen’s request and has since worked to recover the lost funds.

Polish prosecutors opened an investigation in January 2025 into related oil contracts tied to $378 million in damages, and in August 2026, three former Orlen executives were indicted in connection with the case, each facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted.