Luc Frieden has been criticised by the head of ProInvest, an investor-protection group, over the appointment of his senior advisor to the board of the CSSF. Ms Sarah Khabirpor was appointed to the board, despite also sitting on the board of Banque International a Luxembourg, and is a director of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, both of which the CSSF regulates.
The grand duchy’s prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, has sent a letter of defense to Michael Barnier, the EU commissioner who received the complaint. Mr Juncker argued that ProInvest was complaining due the their dissatisfaction with an unfavourable outcome of a dispute concerning one of ProInvest’s memebrs Edgar Bisenius, and BIL, the bank whose board Ms Khabirpour sits on. The CSSF was involved in mediating this dispute. It is claimed Ms Khabirpour had no knowledge of it.
The head of ProInvest however has claimed that this appointment shows the ‘cosy relationship’ between Luxembourg’s business community and its regulators and politicians.
This comes after the knock the Luxembourg’s reputation took earlier this year, when investors claimed that conflicts of interest are rife in the Grand Duchy, and that regulators are ignoring their complaints.
SOURCE: financial times 06/10/13