WARSAW (Reuters) – The former head of Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS) has been detained in the United Arab Emirates, and Poland is working to extradite him to face charges of acting to the detriment of the company, Polish authorities said on Wednesday.
The former CEO, referred to only as Samer A. under Polish privacy laws, has been charged with entering into contracts that resulted in $378 million of losses at state-controlled Polish refiner Orlen and its Swiss subsidiary.
Reuters has not been able to reach Samer A. for comment.
“The prosecutor’s office, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is urgently starting the procedure to extradite the suspect to Poland,” the ministry said on social media platform X.
Polish prosecutors have been investigating since April the loss of nearly $400 million of pre-payments made by Orlen, mostly for Venezuelan oil the company has never received.
The detention follows a court order to arrest top OTS managers in what has become a high-profile case, as Poland’s government alleges its nationalist predecessor politicised appointments and decision-making at state-owned firms. “Another scandal from the time of the Law and Justice (PiS) government is on the way to being made accountable,” Justice Minister Adam Bodnar wrote on X.
The PiS has rejected any suggestion of being involved in the scandal.
Earlier this month, Orlen reached a settlement to recoup $100 million of pre-payments. It is still trying to recoup the rest.
(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Marek Strzelecki. Editing by Mark Potter)
