Antoine Deltour: LuxLeaks whistleblower speaks out

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Antoine Deltour: LuxLeaks whistleblower speaks out

Deltour-Antoine-c

Antoine Deltour, one of the two whistleblowers at the centre of the LuxLeaks scandal, said that he had “mixed feelings” after his conviction for leaking confidential information was upheld, but his sentence was reduced.

Luxembourg’s Cite Judiciare upheld an earlier judgment against the former PwC employee, as well as his ex-colleague Raphaël Halet , but reduced Deltour’s 12-month suspended prison sentence to six months.

“There was a lot of support outside the court. It is a partial victory that for the first time in Europe that a national judge recognised the whistleblower status for revealing professional secrecy, but a satisfying judgment would have been a full acquittal,” Deltour told International Tax Review.

The Frenchman also revealed to International Tax Review that he is considering appealing the decision.

“I need time to read carefully the judgment and then I will make a decision,” he said. “The last possibility [is] to contest the judgement and it will allow me to go to the European Court of Human Rights, but I haven’t made a decision yet.”

Despite the fact that he was convicted, Deltour is optimistic that his case will have a positive impact and bring greater tax transparency in the future.

“It’s a step forward to whistleblowers in Europe, as my lawyer said it is the first time a European judge recognised whistleblower statues . I think it is step forward for tax justice.”

“Unfortunately, the first trial and the appeal trial gave a lot of attention to the messenger and not to the message, which is about tax competition in Europe and how it is more or a little more transparent thanks to the leak. Tax competition is more intense than ever with the decreasing corporate tax rates everywhere in Europe and I think that is having consequences on budgets and public policing.”

“Today’s decision is a recognition of my role in this story,” he added.

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

AI-powered tax agents are likely to be the next big development in tax technology, says Russell Gammon of Tax Systems
FTI Consulting’s EMEA head of employment tax and reward tells ITR about celebrating diversity in the profession, his love of musicals, and what makes tax cool
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump have agreed that the countries will look to conclude a deal by July 21, 2025
The firm’s lack of transparency regarding its tax leaks scandal should see the ban extended beyond June 30, senators Deborah O’Neill and Barbara Pocock tell ITR
Despite posing significant administrative hurdles, digital services taxes remain ‘the best way forward’ for emerging economies, says Neil Kelley, COO of Ascoria
A ‘joint understanding’ among G7 countries that ‘defends American interests’ is set to be announced, Scott Bessent claimed
The ‘big four’ firm’s inaugural annual report unveiled a sharp drop in profits for 2024; in other news, Baker McKenzie and Perkins Coie expanded their US tax benches
Representatives from the two countries focused on TP as they met this week to evaluate progress under a previously signed agreement – it is understood
The UK accountancy firm’s transfer pricing lead tells ITR about his expat lifestyle, taking risks, and what makes tax cool
Dolphin Drilling intends to discuss the final liability amount and manner of settlement with HM Revenue and Customs
Gift this article