{
  "id": 7615627,
  "title": "Polish PM condemns “disgrace” of failed Venezuela oil deal under former government following FT report",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/polish-pm-condemns-disgrace-of-failed-venezuela-oil-deal-under-former",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-15T19:13:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Notes from Poland",
    "slug": "notes-from-poland",
    "url": "https://notesfrompoland.com/2026/09/15/polish-pm-condemns-disgrace-of-failed-venezuela-oil-deal-under-former-government-following-ft-report/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has condemned the \"disgrace\" of a failed oil deal involving former state energy firm Orlen, as detailed in a recent Financial Times report. Orlen lost around $230 million (856 million zloty) in an attempt to purchase Venezuelan oil through intermediaries, unsecured payments, and cryptocurrency transfers under the previous national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government. Daniel Obajtek, who served as Orlen's head at the time, now sits as a member of the European Parliament representing PiS. Obajtek has called for further clarification of the issue in court, suggesting that the current authorities are using it to distract from high fuel prices. Polish prosecutors have launched an investigation into Orlen Trading Switzerland, the subsidiary responsible for the Venezuela deal, and have searched the homes of former senior management. The FT report highlights how the intermediaries attempted to facilitate the deal using cryptocurrency, but the promised oil was never delivered, leading to significant financial losses. The case is now being investigated criminally and through arbitration with the Dubai-based intermediary.",
  "summary": "State energy giant Orlen lost hundreds of millions of dollars it handed to intermediaries.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}