Luxleaks trial of tax whistleblowers begins in Luxembourg

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/26/luxleaks-trial-tax-whistleblowers-begins-luxembourg

Version 0 of 1.

A trial of three people accused of involvement in the leaking of documents that revealed industrial scale tax avoidance has begun in Luxembourg, with attending MEPs vowing to propose a whistleblowers’ charter to prevent such cases in future.

The so-called Luxleaks revelations brought to light multibillion-euro sweetheart deals for companies including Amazon, Ikea and Shire Pharmaceuticals, causing an international tax outrage that rocked the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, and set the scene for the Panama Papers.

The leaked tax structures were published by more than 20 news organisations around the world, including the Guardian, in a project coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The details helped bring about international tax reform through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

But the whistleblowers, Antoine Deltour, a former PricewaterhouseCoopers auditor, and another former PwC employee, Raphael Halet, face up to five years in prison accused of theft, secrecy violation and wrongfully accessing a database. France 2 journalist Edouard Perrin is accused of complicity.

Speaking on Tuesday, the German Greens MEP Sven Giegold told the Guardian that the draft directive being proposed by his group next week would create a common framework shielding whistleblowers from prosecution and a “protected disclosure” defence.

“It is absurd that we have EU protection of commercial secrets but no protection for those who reveal them for the common good. Current protections for whistleblowers only cover clearly illegal activities, but often tax avoidance is legal even if it is illegitimate,” he said.

The law would apply to the public and private sectors, and tilt the burden of proof towards the employer in disputed cases, as well as setting out guidelines for reactions by authorities.

The text will be presented to the commission shortly after its launch. While this cannot oblige Brussels to act, previous draft directives have spurred the commission into bringing forward its own legislation.

“When you show that a proposal is legally feasible, it increases the likelihood that the commission will do it,” said Giegold, who will be testifying in Deltour’s defence. “There are many cases where this has happened.”

Earlier this year, Deltour was awarded the European parliament’s citizens’ prize and praised by the EU’s competition commissioner, Margarethe Vestager, for his actions.

“Luxleaks could not have happened if it was not for the whistleblower, and the team of investigative journalists,” she told the news website EurActiv. “The two worked very well together to change the momentum of the debate about corporate taxation in Europe. I think everyone should thank both the whistleblower and the investigative journalists.”

The case in Luxembourg is expected to last until 4 May, although PwC has also begun civil proceedings.