A former employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers has been convicted of theft after a court in Luxembourg found he was behind an unprecedented leak of controversial tax deals privately granted to many of the world’s largest corporations, reports The Guardian.
A judge in Luxembourg told Antoine Deltour he would avoid jail but must receive a 12-month suspended sentence and a fine of €1,500 (£1200). He found Deltour guilty on charges including theft and violating Luxembourg’s strict professional secrecy laws.
In 2014, Deltour won widespread praise for helping bring to light hundreds of controversial tax deals granted in previous years by the Luxembourg tax office. The revelations helped lay bare the tax arrangements of companies including Burberry, Pepsi, Ikea, Heinz, Shire Pharmaceuticals and others.
The Guardian and other media, working with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, used the leaked data to expose controversial tax practices rubber-stamped by Luxembourg. The documents disclosed that the Luxembourg authorities had helped 340 big firms to minimise their tax payments, in some cases to 1% or less.
These revelations sparked parliamentary inquiries around the world and helped shape major reforms to the way multinational corporations are taxed.
But the Grand Duchy’s finance minster Pierre Gramegna described the leak as “the worst attack Luxembourg has experienced in its history”. During Deltour’s trial, prosecutors claimed he was an “anti-capitalist” and requested he be sentenced to 18 months behind bars – though they later indicated they would accept a suspended sentence.
PwC also gave evidence at trial, pressing for a conviction. The accountancy firm insisted Deltour was a thief, not a whistleblower. He was accused of costing the firm huge sums, though PwC told the court it sought only a symbolic €1 in damages.
In his annual statement last year, the British boss of PwC Luxembourg John Parkhouse said: “We all experienced the impact of the document theft, notoriously known as LuxLeaks. It is a real credit to our community in Luxembourg that we have not only weathered the storm, but have emerged as leaders in the international tax debate as well as retaining strong growth across the economy.”