Five stories you may have missed
In case you missed them the Luxembourg Times has selected five of the best stories from the past week
Aditya Mittal, here at a shareholders meeting in 2013, is ArcelorMittal's new chief. PHOTO: AFP
Russian mafia leader, others hide cash in Luxembourg
Luxembourg's penchant for secrecy was back in the global spotlight on Monday after a media investigation reported the country's financial transparency laws were ineffective in stopping the world's rich and powerful from hiding their money in the country.
Russian mafia leaders, people close to the Venezuelan regime and individuals with ties to organised crime gangs in Italy are among those hiding money in Luxembourg, according to the joint investigation by more than a dozen media organisations.
Luxembourg: jealous neighbours behind tax haven swipe
Jealousy harboured by its closest neighbours was behind this week's scathing media coverage of dirty money in Luxembourg, the country said on Tuesday, after a joint journalistic investigation blamed it for being a tax haven, a moniker the country has long sought to lose.
"Our financial sector is successful, also after Brexit, and people think we have cheated because we are so successful,” Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna said in a speech in parliament on Tuesday.
Lawmakers can review secret RTL agreement in Bettel's ministry
Lawmakers as soon as this week could begin reviewing parts of a government contract with broadcaster RTL that Prime Minister Xavier Bettel wanted kept secret, a deputy who helped force disclosure said on Monday.
Luxembourg's government on Friday outlined for lawmakers the agreement it signed with the private broadcasting company during a closed-door session lasting about 90 minutes. To limit the chances that details become public, lawmakers will be allowed to read through the more than 100 pages of documents by visiting offices of the country's Ministry of State, which Bettel also heads.
New generation takes over at ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal is making a change at the top as company patriarch Lakshmi Mittal steps aside for his son to run the business with immediate effect, the Luxembourg-based steel giant said on Thursday.
Aditya Mittal, who now heads the company's European operations, will become chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal while his father continues to lead its board of directors. A Mittal family trust owns 37% of the publicly traded steel-maker's shares.
Virus may further delay finance crime watchdog visit
The pandemic has slowed the work of the global anti-money laundering watchdog and may force it to postpone its visit to Luxembourg just as the country is hit by new revelations blaming it for not doing enough to trace dirty money hidden in bank accounts.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had to stop some of its planned assessments of how well countries were doing in stamping out money laundering because the watchdog’s staff could not carry out on-the-ground visits due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. The visit had first been scheduled for spring.
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