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Article

26 Apr 2016

Author:
Aleksandra Eriksson, EUobserver (Belgium)

LuxLeaks trial to be whistleblower showcase

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Five years ago, Antoine Deltour quit his job at PwC, the global auditing company, in Luxembourg. But before leaving his desk for good, the French employee copied 28,000 documents of sweetheart tax deals between companies and the Luxembourg authorities to an external drive. Then he leaked them to the press.

His former employer filed a complaint. The trial begins Tuesday (26 April) in Luxembourg’s Cite Judiciaire. Antoine Deltour is charged with theft, violating trade secrets and secrecy laws as well as illegally accessing a database…

They are the only people that have been prosecuted in the wake of the scandal…

The authorities found no infringement of law behind the divulged “tax rulings” - written interpretations of tax law issued by Luxembourg to companies and individuals…

Beyond Deltour's case, the trial raises the issue of the status and protection of whistleblowers and journalists.

[Hungarian MEP Benedek Javor] hailed Deltour and said it was unacceptable that the whistleblower was in court, but those involved in tax avoidance were not. The lawmaker said informants must be better protected…[Also refers to Apple, Amazon, Deutsche Bank, Ebay, Kraft Heinz, Ikea, PepsiCo]