Coinciding with the announcement by the most popular stablecoin issuer in the world, Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA revealed its plan to bypass OFAC sanctions by paying for crude oil and fuel oil exports across international borders using dollar-pegged stablecoins (USDT).
Following the implementation of new sanctions, the US Department of the Treasury instructed all counterparties dealing with PDVSA to halt the use of US dollars for export payments related to petroleum product supplies until May 31. Additional information was provided regarding the freezing of dollar assets held by PDVSA in any foreign banks.
The new policy to freeze accounts whose owners are under OFAC sanctions was announced by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino in December 2023. Ardoino also stated that the company would continue to cooperate with authorities and law enforcement worldwide.