"LuxLeaks whistleblower avoids jail after guilty verdict", 29 Jun 2016

A former employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers [PwC] has been convicted of theft by a court in Luxembourg following an unprecedented leak of controversial tax deals granted to many of the world's largest corporations...

In 2014, Deltour won widespread praise for helping bring to light hundreds of controversial tax deals granted in previous years by the Luxembourg tax office. The revelations, known as the LuxLeaks, helped lay bare the tax arrangements of companies including Burberry, Pepsi, Ikea, Heinz, Shire Pharmaceuticals and others...

PwC also gave evidence at trial, pressing for a conviction. The accountancy firm insisted Deltour was a thief, not a whistleblower. He was accused of costing the company huge sums, though PwC told the court it sought only a symbolic €1 in damages...

In a statement, the whistleblower said his sentence ignored the public interest. It was, he said, "detrimental to citizen's information and the good functioning of the democracy"...