OTS and company secrets
Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS) is simply a company daughter of Orlen, which was formed in August 2022 in the Swiss canton of Zug. It is widely recognized as a taxation haven. It was officially intended to trade petroleum products from global suppliers, but could in fact be utilized to draw crucial sums of money from Orlen.
Against the appointment of Samer Awad, Lebanese with a Polish passport, the OTS president protested the service of Orlen, accusing him of ties to Hezbollah and participating in illegal trafficking in Iranian oil.
So far, it has not been explained how 53-year-old Samer Awad immediately after the creation of Orlen Trading Switzerland became its president. According to Onetu's informant, he was to be recommended by Orlen Vice president Michał Horn, who later pressed for acquisition of oil from Venezuela by OTS, which led to losses of PLN 1.6 billion by Orlen.
OTS became public in March that year. It was then discussed by Donald Tusk:
There is an OTS company, founded by Orlen despite warnings directed at members of the government of Mateusz Morawiecki. As regards the nature of the company’s activities and its cast, no effective intervention was decided. There are reasonable concerns that Poland will be exposed to very serious problems in connection with the operation of this company said the Prime Minister.
The problem has already been reported
What, though, resulted from the failure sustained by Orlen? As mentioned, OTS paid advance payments for supplies of oil from Venezuela, which never reached Poland. They were to be realised in December 2023 and January 2024, but until now, Orlen has received neither oil nor a refund. Most of the funds went to a Dubai middleman, who turned out to be a 25-year-old Chinese. Counterparties are gone and it's impossible to get the money back.
Among another things, it found that the authorities of Orlen during Daniel's word of office were repeatedly warned about possible OTS problems. Already before the establishment of the Orlen safety company, they predicted that this could be a large-scale fraud and there is simply a advanced hazard of embezzlement of funds.
A secret note with specified warnings was sent to key people in the state of the Law and Justice, but neither Obietek nor his political superiors took any action.
Terrorist ties
Onet revealed that according to Orlen's safety services' findings, Samer Awad could have been associated with Hezbollah, an organization operating in Lebanon and sponsored by Iran before being employed at OTS. He could besides participate in illegal trafficking in Iranian oil, which was subject to global sanctions.
In his article Awad was described as "a Lebanese man associated with Hezbollah, suspected of circumventing sanctions imposed on Iran by selling oil as originating in Yemen". His deputy, Marcin Otfinowski, was portrayed as a individual active in corruption and financial pyramids investigated by CBA.
According to the papers that Onet reached, Samer Awad repeatedly made contact with Kasim Oztas, a 41-year-old Turkish citizen and managing manager at ASB Group. Although the company originates in Turkey, it is formally registered in Gibraltar and has been qualified by the U.S. Department of Justice as a company supporting the financing of the Iranian Revolutionary defender Corps (IRGC), considered a terrorist organization. The Corps serves as interior safety in Iran and engages in financing global terrorism, including organisations specified as Hezbollah and Hamas.
Kasim Oztas pursued by the US
In February, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an indictment against Kasim Oztas and six another men who were to make a grid to let illegal exports of Iranian oil, mainly to China and Russia, to fund the Iranian Revolutionary defender Corps (IRGC).
American investigators describe Oztas as a Turkish citizen, managing manager of the ASB Group of Companies, who facilitated money laundering from IRGC oil and played a key function in black marketplace transactions. Oztas was liable for sending and receiving documentation, including contracts and falsified transaction documents.
Samer Awad and Kasim Oztas exchanged e-mails, setting out details of various transactions worldwide, indicating their close acquaintance and individual encounters. The Awad was named in correspondence both by its name and by the nickname “Abu Ali”.
