Police search Pirate headquarters and homes of party members

Police have carried out searches at the headquarters of the Pirate Party and the homes of party members as part of an investigation into allegations of fraud surrounding a contract for a translation app, leader Sven Clement said on Thursday.

Clement told RTL in an interview that police had searched his house and the homes of other party members, as well as the party’s headquarters and the offices of its parliamentary group as part of the investigation. The Pirate deputy said he had “fully co-operated” with the officers and that he had “voluntarily” handed over documents, but added that he has not yet been questioned.

Clement has maintained that he has “nothing to reproach himself about with regard to criminal law” and has said he wants to let the investigations take their course, as they would bring “a lot of clarity” into the affair.

The officers were carrying out the searches on behalf of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating financial irregularities in connection with the awarding of the contract. The case was brought to light by an investigation by the Luxembourg Times and Luxemburger Wort in the summer.

The party was paid around €135,000 out of €207,000 for two contracts to develop an app called “Mobile Assisted Language Tool” (Malt). However, an audit by the Finance Inspectorate (IGF) found that around €96,000 worth of invoices were “inadmissible” and shouldn’t have been refunded. 

Clement also said on Thursday that, contrary to media reports, he is not currently thinking of changing parties. The Pirates have been shedding party members – with many defecting to the LSAP – since news of the investigation broke, while there has been a series of very public spats between Clement and fellow Pirate Party deputy Marc Goergen.

(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translation, editing and adaptation by Duncan Roberts)