Minister will not suspend convicted deputy mayor

Interior Minister Léon Gloden will not use a law that would allow him to suspend the deputy mayor of Esch-sur-Alzette, Pim Knaff, who was convicted of serious tax fraud two months ago.

In April, Knaff reached a settlement with the public prosecutor’s office that required him to pay a fine of 9,500 euros for tax fraud. The deputy mayor himself had described the fraud as an accounting error.

Under Luxembourg municipal law, the Minister of the Interior has the power to suspend local aldermen or mayors for up to three months for “serious misconduct” (unsolicited announcement). The ban can be extended for good reason.

However, what constitutes “serious misconduct” is not defined by law. A briefing document from Gloden’s ministry states that according to Belgian precedents, serious misconduct includes “corruption, tax fraud, public drunkenness or hit-and-run.”

However, Gloden refrained from using this power in the Knaff case and joined the ranks of his DP coalition partner.

“It is not my job to comment on the judges’ decision. However, I note that the court did not impose a penalty based on deprivation of the right to vote, to stand for election or to stand for election, as provided for in Article 11 of the Criminal Code,” Gloden said in response to a parliamentary question from déi Lénk MP Marc Baum.

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“Therefore, at the end of the court proceedings, the councillor concerned will retain his full active and passive right to vote and thus also his passive right to vote and thus also the office of councillor that he currently holds,” said Gloden.

“The facts that led to the above-mentioned conviction relate to the professional life of the person concerned and have nothing to do with the exercise of his office as deputy. It is up to Mr Knaff to decide whether he wishes to continue his political mandate,” he said.

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Baum from Déi Lénk is also a member of the Esch city council and has publicly called for Knaff’s resignation, as has the opposition LSAP. Both the CSV and Knaff’s DP support the deputy mayor, who has himself refused to resign.

Knaff, a lawyer who also sat in parliament between 2020 and 2023, confirmed last month that he had been fined 9,500 euros as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

He was investigated because he had not declared the fees from the bankruptcy proceedings. reporter The former MP evaded 50,000 euros in taxes on a total income of just over 109,000 euros.