Parliament to Investigate Pirate Party Financial Mismanagement Allegations

Luxembourg's parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, has announced that it is launching an analysis of the finances of the Pirate Party (Piraten) in light of recent allegations.

Just last week, Luxembourg MP Ben Polidori announced his decision to leave the Pirate Party and remain in the Chamber of Deputies as an independent MP. Among his cited reasons was internal management disagreement and differing values (i.e. concerning transparency and participatory democracy).

Since then, tensions have been escalating within the Pirate Party. Accusations have emerged, for example, in relation to the mismanagement of funds, notably concerning a translation app for refugees.

The parliament noted on Tuesday 23 July 2024 that a series of allegations concerning the private use of operating funds made available by the Chamber of Deputies have been the subject of recent communications from Pirate Party MPs and the media.

In this context, the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies has decided to ask the Pirate Party MPs to provide the parliament with a copy of all the financial documents, making it possible to trace the party's expenses since the beginning of the 2018-2023 legislature until now.

Upon receipt, these documents will be transmitted to the Court of Auditors in order to establish their compliance with the relevant article of the parliament regulations, as well as the veracity of these allegations.

The parliament has also decided to entrust the Court of Auditors with an annual audit of the accounts of the various political "groups and sensitivities" within the Chamber of Deputies.