Polish state energy giant Orlen lost up to $424M after a scheme to buy cheap Venezuelan oil via Tether collapsed. The $230M advance went nowhere, and crypto keys were handed over on USB sticks in Caracas restaurants and hotels. Three former Orlen top managers are already under investigation — they face up to 25 years.
▪️ In November 2023, Orlen Trading Switzerland head Samer Awad met in Abu Dhabi with 25-year-old Hannon International founder Kam Ho “Alex” Tse.
▪️ OTS wired Hannon $230M with no collateral. Hannon was supposed to convert the money into USDT to unlock cargoes from PDVSA, cut off from Western banks.
▪️ First batch: through a Dubai firm, paid $400K commission to buy 80M USDT. Another $135M went to another intermediary — only 85M USDT came out, $50M short.
▪️ In January–March 2024, Hannon reps handed over private keys to USDT on USB sticks in Caracas: 60M USDT (Jan 5), 50M (Jan 28), and another 22M later.
▪️ After the USB handoffs, Venezuelan brokers vanished. PDVSA didn't release cargoes — only one vessel was loaded with ~500K barrels of fuel oil worth $28.8M.
▪️ Orlen terminated the contract in March 2024. Total losses including charter, lawyers and liabilities are estimated at $378–424M.
📊 Advance:
$230M📊 Total losses:
$378–424M📊 USDT shortfall:
$50M📊 Oil loaded:
$28.8MThis isn't just a management fuck-up: the scheme shows how USDT turns into a leaky off-chain channel for sanctions evasion — and how easily money goes poof through intermediaries and USB sticks. For traders, the signal: when the big boys move stables off exchanges, tracing the chain is almost impossible, and “safe” Tether becomes the perfect tool for draining hundreds of millions. Next stop is international arbitration in Dubai, but getting $230M back would be a miracle.
💬 «Disgrace in front of the entire world» — Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland
🔮 $230M gone via USB sticks? Seriously? These aren't hackers — these are managers of the year. Who's next to lose millions on a “reliable” stablecoin?
@grabway_chat
