Former Orlen managers before court in case over 1.5 billion zloty losses
Three former members of the board of Orlen and OTS company appeared before the District Court in Warsaw in a case concerning losses of 1.5 billion zloty. The prosecution has accused them of concluding disadvantageous contracts for crude oil.
"OTS affair" trial begins in Warsaw
Gazeta Prawna newspaper has established that the case of three people charged in connection with the activities of Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS) has been registered at the District Court in Warsaw. The judge assigned to conduct the proceedings is Dariusz Łubowski. The date of the first hearing has not yet been set.
The accused are: Michał R. — former member of the board of Orlen SA, Marcin O. — former member of the board of OTS GmbH, and Filip W. — former executive director of both companies. The prosecution alleges they caused damage in the amount of 378 million dollars (equivalent to 1.5 billion zloty) by concluding three disadvantageous contracts for the purchase of crude oil in the period from August to December 2023.
Filip W. additionally faces a charge of concealing his assets from seizure "towards the obligation to repair the damage". They face sentences of up to 25 years imprisonment. The indictment was submitted from the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw to the district court in early August 2024.
A fourth person involved in the investigation — Samer A., former president of the board of OTS GmbH — has been separated from these proceedings for a separate trial. The man is being sought by both Polish authorities and the United Arab Emirates, to which the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw has requested his extradition.
Transaction with "Alex" Tse
According to Financial Times reporting, the scandal unfolded as a result of the involvement of Samer A. and Kam Ho "Alex" Tse, founder of Hannon International, a company based in Dubai. At the end of November 2023, they are said to have met during a reception on a boat accompanying the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Samer A. is said to have then asked Tse to arrange delivery of Venezuelan crude oil for Orlen.
OTS signed a contract to purchase approximately six million barrels of crude oil from Venezuela. The contract required a prepayment constituting two-thirds of the total transaction — 230 million dollars. However, the Venezuelan state-owned company PDVSA required payment in USDT cryptocurrency, which made it possible to circumvent American sanctions.
After receiving the funds, Tse proceeded with the exchange to cryptocurrency. His company undertook to deliver the oil in three tranches by 19 December 2023. However, part of the money became stuck during the exchange in companies registered in Dubai, and intermediaries were unable to ensure the promised oil.
Losses and arbitration proceedings
In March 2024, OTS under new management terminated the contract. According to Financial Times, Orlen continues to attempt to recover 230 million dollars as a prepayment, and the dispute remains the subject of arbitration proceedings. Hannon claims, however, that it does not have an equivalent amount available.
The matter became widely discussed in 2024, when Orlen made a write-down in its consolidated result in the amount of 1.6 billion zloty. At the same time, the company drew attention to the fact that between 2018 and 2023 it had concluded over one thousand crude oil purchase transactions totalling over 100 billion zloty without the need to make prepayments.
Media materials from 2024 indicated that Orlen's internal security services warned about Samer A. already in 2022. According to the Onet portal and Rzeczpospolita newspaper, the man, originally from Lebanon, was suspected of contacts with the Hezbollah organisation and involvement in illegal trade in oil from Iran.
Statement of former Orlen chief executive
In mid-September 2024, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that he would ask the prosecutor general to provide full information about the proceedings concerning OTS. He described the case as "a disgrace to the whole world" and one of the greatest scandals in the country's history.
Former Orlen chief executive Daniel Obajtek told journalists in the European Parliament that the prosecution has been conducting the case for three years. He stressed that he does not feel responsible for it — "if I were responsible, I would face charges". He noted that Orlen had under its control approximately 300 companies subordinate to the group, carrying out thousands of transactions monthly, which were not analysed by the central management. Obajtek stressed the need for the current authorities to clarify the matter.
Source: Dziennik Gazeta Prawna