Settlement of crimes from 2016-2023
On Tuesday, at the headquarters of the National Prosecutor's Office, during a press conference of the national prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk and the regional prosecutor in Warsaw Małgorzata Adamajtys, information on the ongoing proceedings regarding Orlen was presented.
Proc. Korneluk stated that the settlement of crimes from 2016-2023 “is necessary to restore faith in the state and faith in the law.” “Public officials cannot go unpunished. This applies primarily to politicians and a number of other people who have public funds at their disposal. I understand how important the role of the prosecutor's office and prosecutors is here and I assure you that we are very determined in this matter,” said Korneluk.
He said that such cases are conducted by the best prosecutors under his personal supervision. “I take personal responsibility for these proceedings,” he emphasized.
“One of such matters requiring absolute settlement is, of course, the case of Orlen, headed by its president, Daniel Obajtek, as well as the entire management structure of this company. Matters relating to Orlen are very important from the point of view of the country's energy security. That is why we approach these matters with the greatest determination and priority,” said Korneluk.
He informed that the three most important proceedings relating to Orlen concern the merger of Orlen with Lotos, as well as consent to the sale of 30 percent. shares of the Gdańsk Refinery for Saudi Aramco, the issue of low fuel prices on the wholesale and retail markets in autumn 2023, which could be related to the parliamentary elections. “The third very shocking case is the unsupervised transfer of over PLN 1.5 billion to OTS,” added the national prosecutor.
Searches at Daniel Obajtek's place
National prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk announced on Tuesday that searches were carried out at the former president of Orlen, Daniel Obajtek, and several former directors of Orlen in connection with ongoing investigations into price gouging and the merger of Orlen with Lotos.
National Prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk was asked at Tuesday's press conference about the stage of proceedings regarding price gouging at gas stations and the merger of Orlen with Lotos.
“Both of these proceedings have been initiated. Activities are being carried out, including searches of the president of Orlen, as well as the entire management staff and directors. A number of information and data have been collected and are being analyzed,” Korneluk said. He clarified that the search was carried out at the premises of Daniel Obajtek and “six or seven” directors.
The national prosecutor said that an interrogation of the former president of Orlen is also planned. “I don't know yet in what capacity,” he added.
The regional prosecutor in Warsaw, Małgorzata Adamajtys, in turn, talked about the proceedings in the case of the OTS company. She said that neither Daniel Obajtek nor any other member of the previous Orlen management board had been interviewed yet. However, as she informed, the current vice-president of Orlen, Witold Literacki, gave his testimony last week.
Adamajtys also confirmed the information that Orlen's control and security office had signaled “certain irregularities regarding the establishment of the company” OTS and the person who would be the president of its management board. She added that there was no information on who was informed about these irregularities.
She said that Orlen was to submit documents in this case to the prosecutor's office by Monday, May 6. “Then the person, perhaps Mr. Literacki again, who was interrogated, will submit supplementary testimony. Then these documents may show who was informed and to what extent” – he added. (PAP)
authors: Marcin Jabłoński, Edyta Roś
