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| My Orchids. Dendrobium "Transparency". Photo ET |
Antoine Deltour, the Edward
Snowden of Luxleaks to meet his judges in Luxembourg.
This will be a great show!
For five days, from April 26, 2016, Antoine Deltour, the hard copier of PwC’s
secret tax ruling documents, will be before his judges in Luxembourg. Edouard
Perrin, a journalist for France 2 who first published these documents will also
be there with a third man whom we know is 38 years old. It is one anecdote in
the twists of the Luxembourg tortuous justice system to find out why and when
the name of an accused is released.
It is already certain that this dramatic event
will go live on many TV channels worldwide, and an army of journalists will
cover it. While Luxleaks was virtually swept under the rug by now, including at
the European Parliament’s investigation, it is Luxembourg that revives the
story again in an ill-timed show trial, and even dragging in a journalist.
Luxembourg thus continues its public self-flagellation with a lawsuit where we
know already that one of the outcomes is a guaranteed further loss of
reputation for the country. After the tax haven reputation, it consolidates its
reputation as a judicial haven. Is this nation-branding in a little perverse
way perhaps?
Of course, justice needs to
be done. Clearly, laws were violated, though very specific laws that are protecting
the secrecy and confidentiality of the Luxembourg financial center.
Internationally, there will be no sympathy for the Luxembourg side. Antoine
Deltour will be a hero whistleblower, as became Edward Snowden, and Edouard
Perrin will be the poster child of Luxembourg’s abuse of the freedom of press. Even
on those issues where Luxembourg may be right, it will be wrong in world
opinion.
This short-sighted rush to action by the Luxembourg judiciary is a bit
surprising, as Luxembourg is known as a haven, where criminals enjoy very long
delays in the delivery of justice, if they are ever sentenced at all. Because indeed Luxembourg is a notorious judicial
haven, well camouflaged certainly, because the majority of people never have to
live through it. But those who do, know. One has to live through it to believe it. I’m
one of those veterans to have experienced the slowness of justice in a criminal
case that I had brought against two fraudsters. The judicial haven is for
criminals. It is a hell for their victims. The case I brought is over 10 years
old, and is still not resolved. Such delays can only be explained by political
interference. Because incompetence cannot, hopefully, span 3 consecutive governments.
Indeed, the burden of proof that it did not interfere falls on the government.
Having thus established
that this type of interference is the operating mode practiced in this small judicial
haven, where everyone knows everyone, I do not understand why Antoine Deltour’s
case, instead of the usual delays was instead rushed through the system.
Political interference again, but atypical as this time it isn’t about delaying
but rushing to justice. That fact, the rush, is also the ultimate proof that
delays and rushes must result from interference, not just incompetence. Though in one absurd way it is also proof
of political incompetence, because the case will become a political boomerang. The
government should have used its long arms to provide a little bit of judicial haven
to the accused, by delaying in exchange for a little umbrella against international
ridicule. But why the rush? Ah, it depends on the plaintiff!
The “Raison d’état” plays
mad even more, by pressing criminal charges against the journalist Edouard
Perrin. As a veteran critic of the judicial haven, I'm not only completely
disoriented by so much "transparency" and the rush to justice without
delay, or even speedy if not even summary justice as measured against Luxembourg’s
usual proceedings. For once it is regrettable that the accused cannot enjoy
at least the usual indulgence that real criminals usually enjoy. According to the
former Attorney General Robert Biever, especially when it comes to financial
crimes and money laundering (including terrorist financing), 1,500 cases were
shelved after reaching the statute of limitations due to a "lack of
resources" from 1990-2011. That’s an average of 75 crimes per year that
went unpunished! Since then we have stopped counting. Someone takes the
gauntlet to investigate who makes or made the decisions on which cases to drop
and why?
So, in summary, the
Luxembourg justice, which is not really independent, opens a Pandora's Box. In doing
so it does not act without the government’s green light. It might even act because of its
long arm. And it is more than likely that the initiative enjoys the support of
a broad consensus in the financial center.
Out of the Pandora's Box
will reappear other skeletons, as the shelved law on Freedom of information (FOI),
buried unadorned, the law on whistleblowers, and all the shameful practices
that have survived the onslaught of FATCA and the official end of the tax
haven.
Press communication by
the Luxembourg General Attorney’s office (Freely translated from French)
I hereby inform you that
the trial said "LuxLeaks" will begin on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 at
the Luxembourg District Court. Three people were referred to the criminal
court.
Following the order of
the “Chambre du Conseil” of the
Luxembourg District Court of 25 November 2015, Mr. Antoine Deltour must answer
for the acts committed by him as a perpetrator of domestic theft, fraudulent
access or maintenance in a computer system, disclosure of trade secrets, breach
of professional secrecy and laundering-holding the stolen documents.
A second former PwC
employee is accused of the same offenses, namely domestic theft, fraudulent
access or maintenance in a computer system, disclosure of trade secrets, breach
of professional secrecy and laundering-holding the stolen documents, but for
different facts committed after those committed by Antoine Deltour.
Mr. Edouard Perrin,
meanwhile, must answer as co-author or accomplice to the violations of
disclosing business secrets, breach of professional secrecy and, as perpetrator
of the holding-laundering offense for documents only removed by the second
employee .
So you can make
arrangements, I note that the trial is expected to last five hearings.
The exact hearing dates are:
- Tuesday, April 26, 2016
at 9:00 am
- Wednesday, April 27,
2016 at 15:00
- Thursday, April 28,
2016 at 9:00 am
- Tuesday, May 3, 2016 at
9:00 am
- Wednesday, May 4, 2016
at 15:00
All hearings will be held
in room 1.10 TL at the Luxembourg District Court. The case will be handled by
the 12th Criminal Chamber of the same court.
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