
The former head of Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS) has been detained in the UAE, and Poland is seeking to extradite him to face charges of acting against the firm, Polish authorities announced on Wednesday. The former CEO, known only as Samer A. under Polish privacy regulations, has been charged with entering into contracts that resulted in $378 million in losses for state-controlled Polish refiner Orlen and its Swiss affiliate.
The prosecutor’s office, working together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is launching an urgent procedure to extradite the suspect to Poland,” the ministry announced on social networking site X. Since April, Polish prosecutors have been looking into the loss of approximately $400 million in prepayments made by Orlen, primarily for Venezuelan oil that the business has never received.
The detention followed a court order to arrest top OTS administrators in a high-profile case in which Poland’s government accuses its nationalist predecessor of politicising appointments and decision-making at state-owned enterprises. Another scandal from the Law and Justice (PiS) government is about to be held accountable,” Justice Minister Adam Bodnar tweeted on X.
The PiS has refuted any allegations of involvement in the issue. Earlier this month, Orlen negotiated an agreement to recoup $100 million in prepayments. It is still working to retrieve the remainder.
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