A few weeks after the revelations of the “Panama Papers” on trial “Luxleaks” has opened up in Luxembourg on Tuesday, promising to stir until next week several hot topics, the fragile status of launchers alert to the scandal of tax evasion.
Three French, including a journalist, appeared in the morning before the Criminal court of Luxembourg, accused of having fuiter nearly 30,000 pages illuminating tax practices large multinationals established in the Grand Duchy. They face up to 10 years in prison.
Arriving at the court to the applause of about fifty protesters solidarity, the whistleblower, Antoine Deltour, 31, is accused of organizing the flight of these tax documents of the audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he worked in Luxembourg.
During this first day, he did not comment. Concentrated, it seemed rather relaxed during the hearing.
“This is truly an example of ethical whistleblower. He has no personal interest in the case, he did nothing but trouble to have. However, he has released documents that showed that tax evasion by multinationals, “said his uncle Pierre Deltour.
– “Solidarity” France –
The whistleblower received the strong support of the French Finance Minister Michel Sapin, the National Assembly, who has expressed “solidarity” of France.
“It’s thanks to him that we could end this opacity that prevented European countries to know the exact tax situation of a number large companies in Luxembourg “, found Mr. Sapin.
This is Antoine Deltour who entrusted the documents to the journalist Edouard Perrin, also continued, which revealed the scandal in May 2012 in the program “Cash Investigation” on the French public channel France 2.
Edouard Perrin, 45, he was charged in April 2015 to include domestic flight complicity, violation of professional secrecy and violation of secrets business. He is thus accused of having manipulated another employee of PwC, Raphael Halet, to organize one second leaked documents.
Mr. Halet, 40, is the third French charge. As Antoine Deltour, he is prosecuted for domestic flights, disclosure of trade secrets, breach of professional secrecy and money laundering.
Their former employer, the audit firm PwC, is a civil party to the trial, which is to last until May 4
The trial began with the testimony of internal auditor PwC Anita Bouvy, who recounted how Antoine Deltour had had access to thousands of pages of confidential documents. Ms. Bouvy conducted the survey over several months to see who could access the documents leaked to the media.
In the personnel file of Mr. Deltour which was formed when he left PwC in 2010 the latter had mentioned, says Bouvy, a “frustration” because it had a large workload.
– “Puzzle” –
At the end of the hearing will resume Wednesday at 1300 GMT with the hearing of the officer who led the investigation, the lawyer of Antoine Deltour, William Bourdon, said that “the first day went well.” “Gradually the puzzle, the great debate being written before our eyes”, welcomed Bourdon
This trial, which started in an unusual effervescence for “legal city” Luxembourg -. The courts where the courts are established – is followed closely by many NGOs, while Luxembourg hardly divest its image haven for companies seeking to minimize their tax, amid strong public awareness to these subjects.
Because if the recent “Panama Papers” have uncovered complex timelines companies to hide assets, the scandal of “LuxLeaks” has it unveiled the tax practices of companies like Apple, Ikea and Pepsi to save billions of tax dollars.
thousands of confidential pages on tax optimization practices of multinationals operating in Luxembourg was disclosed in November and December 2014.
They provided details 548 “tax rescripts” – involving more than 350 companies. – generously granted by the administration and negotiated by the firm PwC on behalf of its customers
the facts date back to the time John -Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, was Prime Minister of Luxembourg (1995-2013).
PwC had filed a complaint in June 2012, triggering an investigation that then rebounded in 2014 after the publication of documents this time by ICIJ, the International Consortium of investigative journalists.
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