Polish energy company Orlen lost nearly $400 million trying to buy oil from Venezuela in 2023, despite US sanctions, the Financial Times (FT) reported.
Orlen's Swiss subsidiary tried to secure the deal by sending advances to UAE-based companies Hannon International and Gold Mar International Trading. While Orlen's money was transiting through Dubai, three supertankers chartered by the Polish company headed for Venezuela. According to shipping records, they reached Venezuelan waters by mid-December, anchoring near the Jose terminal, the country's main oil export hub.
However, Venezuela's state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela claims it never received payment for the oil. The tankers, after sitting at sea for several months, sailed away empty. Orlen was forced to write off a total of $394 million. More than two years later, the company is trying to recover the $230 million it transferred to Hannon International, but the Dubai-based company claims it does not have the funds.