Poland's Orlen attempts to purchase oil with USDT, losing $400 million

Polish state-owned oil refinery Orlen attempted to purchase 6 million barrels of crude oil from Venezuela using USDT at the end of 2023, prepaying $230 million to three Dubai intermediaries and converting it into USDT. In the end, only $28.8 million worth of oil was received, and the remaining $201.2 million in prepayments and subsequent demurrage fees resulted in Orlen Group facing approximately $400 million in financial impairment losses. (Source: Financial Times)