Prosecutors to probe Orlen-Lotos merger, Lotos sale
The District Prosecutor's Office in the central Polish town of Plock has launched an investigation into apparent irregularities in the merger of the energy group Orlen and fuels firm Lotos, as well as the later sale of Lotos, according to an MP of the governing Civic Coalition (KO) grouping.
In July 2020, the European Commission approved the acquisition of the Lotos Group by PKN Orlen, both state-controlled companies, under the condition that certain divestments be carried out.
The merger made PKN Orlen the largest multi-fuel company in the Central and Eastern European region.
On January 12, 2022, PKN Orlen announced that it had decided to sell a 30-percent stake in Lotos's Rafineria Gdanska (Gdansk Refinery) to the Saudi Arabian firm Saudi Aramco, and 417 Lotos petrol stations in Poland to the Hungarian oil and gas company MOL.
But the then opposition pointed to numerous alleged irregularities in the transfer of some of the refinery’s shares to the Arab company.
In December, 2022, Civic Platform (PO), the main opposition party at the time, notified the prosecution of suspected crimes that could have been committed in the Saudi Aramco deal.
On Tuesday, Agnieszka Pomaska, a KO MP told a press conference in Gdansk that by the prosecutor's decision of January 22, 2024, "an investigation was initiated into the case, specifically into two incidents."
"Firstly, the prosecutor's office pointed to the abuse of the granted powers and the failure to fulfil the obligations by the management board of PKN Orlen and other persons appointed to deal with property matters and business activities," she said.
The investigation will concern "contracts related to the Orlen-Lotos merger and... the sale of Lotos," Pomaska added.
According to her "the prosecutor's office says directly that significant property damage could have been caused to PKN Orlen, no less than PLN 4 billion (EUR 917 million)."
The prosecutor's office has also launched a probe into "the abuse of powers and failure to fulfil official duties by public officials", including the president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), "who consented to the merger and improperly applied the provisions of the Act that should protect this type of transaction", Pomaska said.
In late December 2022, the Gdansk refinery was added to the list of entities subject to special protection by the state after concerns had been raised that the Saudi share could pose a security threat to Polish fuel supplies.
PKN Orlen has insisted that the majority of shares in the Gdansk refinery, 70 percent, remain in their hands and that company representatives have a decisive voice in the group's corporate decision-making.
In July 2023, following an inspection of the Ministry of State Assets, the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) issued a report regarding the Orlen-Lotos merger.
Private broadcaster TVN24 got to the still unpublished document and found out that, according to the NIK, Saudi Aramco paid PLN 7.2 billion (EUR 1.65 bln) less for the Lotos shares than they were worth. (PAP)
mr/md/mf
