A former auditor convicted over leaking documents that exposed industrial-scale tax dodging in Luxembourg has won his bid to be recognized as a whistleblower rather than a criminal before Europe’s top rights court.

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled by a 12 to five majority that the public interest in leaking the data showing multinationals like Apple, Amazon and Pepsi spiriting profits to the tiny nation outweighed the detrimental effect.

The court found that a fine issued by a Luxembourg court against ex-PricewaterhouseCoopers employee Raphaël Halet for releasing documents as part of the Luxembourg Leaks financial scandal could have a chilling effect on the media.

The fine had previously been upheld in 2021, by seven judges at the Strasbourg court. Halet appealed the decision and successfully argued before the Grand Chamber that his 2016 conviction for leaking the data about Luxembourg’s tax dealings violated his right to freedom of expression.

The leaked files formed part of the cache used by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and dozens of media partners for the 2014 Luxembourg Leaks project.

ICIJ’s investigation showed how IKEA, AIG, Deutsche Bank and hundreds more international brands received secret deals in Luxembourg that allowed many to slash their global tax bills.

PwC helped multinational companies obtain more than 500 tax rulings in Luxembourg from 2002 to 2010 featuring complex structures designed to...

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