Interior Minister orders immigration audit amid major fraud investigation
Luxembourg's Interior Minister Léon Gloden has ordered an audit of the country's immigration services after prosecutors discovered a vast fraud network involving corruption, human trafficking, forged documents and money laundering.
Interior Minister orders immigration audit amid major fraud investigation
Luxembourg's Interior Minister, Léon Gloden, has ordered a thorough examination of the country's immigration services after the public prosecutor discovered what it considers one of the most significant immigration fraud cases ever detected in the Grand Duchy. The investigation, which began in summer 2023, has already led to the formal indictment of 28 people, including two suspects detained pending trial and three others placed under judicial supervision.
According to the public prosecutor, the case concerns several alleged offences, namely corruption, misconduct in public office, money laundering, document forgery, use of forged papers, subsidy fraud, human trafficking and violations of immigration legislation. The General Directorate of Immigration at the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Research and Higher Education are among the public institutions affected by the alleged criminal network.
Investigators conducted 27 searches in administrative offices and social security bodies, as well as 12 searches in immigration offices, four at the Ministry of Higher Education and five in companies based on the territory. Three of the 28 indicted people are civil servants or public officials. Five of them have been suspended from their duties.
In an interview given to Luxemburger Wort, Minister Gloden indicated that he was only informed of the investigation in April 2025, during a search related to the case. He clarified that his ministry had followed the public prosecutor's recommendations in not making the case public at that time. "We did not communicate because the public prosecutor did not either," he explained.
The ministry immediately suspended three employees of the department handling nationals of third countries. Since then, two further civil servants have also been suspended, bringing the total to five.
Conflicting versions are emerging as to the triggering of the criminal investigation. Gloden claimed that the Immigration Directorate had submitted several internal reports flagging suspicions of irregularities as early as January 2023. However, the public prosecutor indicated to the same newspaper that the investigation had been launched following a complaint filed with the judicial police by a single person — an applicant involved in an immigration procedure. The prosecutors refused to clarify whether the internal reports and this complaint were linked.
The minister emphasised that the case had not yet been examined at the government council. He is due to appear before the competent parliamentary commission to answer questions from deputies.
Gloden also backed the public prosecutor's criticism that current data protection laws prevent investigators from alerting other public authorities and social security bodies to fraud cases identified. He described it as "unacceptable" that the authorities "hit a wall because of data protection legislation and are therefore unable to effectively combat organised crime".
The government has been working for approximately 18 months on a broader administrative strategy aimed at improving information sharing between authorities. A platform enabling ministries to identify suspicious patterns and exchange information before potential offences are committed was approved by the government at the end of June.
Gloden has now ordered an audit of immigration services to identify gaps in internal controls and information sharing with other public bodies. This examination is to begin as soon as possible and lead to concrete reforms. He insisted that the investigation does not concern Luxembourg's asylum system, but rather residence permit applications filed by nationals of third countries wishing to work or study in the country.
Source: Luxembourg Times