Luxembourg’s Penal Code criminalizes active and passive bribery, facilitation payments, trading in influence and taking and accepting gifts or an interest. The government implements anti-corruption laws effectively (HRR 2017). A Code of Conduct (in French) on financial interests and conflicts of interest for Luxembourg MPs contains provisions regulating the pursuit of the public interest. Bribery and trading in influence, giving and accepting gifts worth more than EUR 150 and conflicts of interest are criminalized (Lexology, Aug. 2017). Facilitation payments are not permitted (Lexology, Aug. 2017). The maximum penalty for active or passive bribery for individuals is ten years of imprisonment and a fine between EUR 500 and EUR 187,000 (Lexology, Aug. 2017). Cabinet members are compelled by an executive order to disclose assets and any income from the business sector; nonetheless, there are no sanctions outlined for failure of disclosure (HRR 2017). MPs are also subject to declaration of assets regulations, however, are not applied to relatives or people with close relations to MPs (GRECO 2017). Interactions and potential conflicts of interest between parliamentarians and third parties are poorly regulated (GRECO 2017).
Luxembourg has signed the multilateral competent authority agreement to automatically exchange information between authorities and other states on tax information exchange (OECD, Oct. 2014). These reforms have been generally successful in combating money-laundering and tax evasion, thereby countering the country’s image as a tax haven (ICS 2017). However, Luxembourg still ranks sixth out of over a hundred countries for financial secrecy in its laws (TJN 2018). Whistleblowers in the private and the public sectors are protected under the country’s labor laws (Lexology, Aug. 2017). Concerns over the absence of a policy regulating the movement of personnel between the private and the public sectors have been raised. In one instance, it was found that a high-level official from the Ministry of Finance held three other positions. The government did not find any breach in holding the three positions at the same time, despite the positions encompassing activities in the public and the private sectors (EUACR, Feb. 2014). Other criticisms pertain to the limited effectiveness of Luxembourg in pursuing foreign bribery cases and the lack of a national anti-corruption strategy (EUACR, Feb. 2014).
Luxembourg has ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the Criminal Law Convention against Corruption, and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and is signatory to the Civil Law Convention on Corruption.
