The Luxembourg Science Center's future is in jeopardy after the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) completed its report on financial wrongdoing by the Centre's former director last week.

Last week, the IGF found that former director, Nicolas Didier, deliberately tried to divert money from the Science Center non-profit to his own private company GGM11. As a result, the State has withheld any subsidies from the Centre since April, increasing its financial burden to around €2 million. Unless a proposal for new management is accepted, the subsidies will continue to stay on hold.

Didier's private company invoiced the Science Center in May for a total of around €2 million. The invoices pertained to a modular building, part of the "phase II" expansion of the Science Center. Didier had commissioned plans for phase II from Skolnick's architect office in New York. However, the plans for the old Arbed hall in Differdange were rejected by the National Institute for Architectural Heritage, citing reasons of monument protection.

The invoices, which date back to December 2022, were accepted by the Science Center's vice-president and treasurer, according to the IGF's report. In addition, the previous budget for the work had been estimated to cost around half of the invoiced amount.

In his capacity as GGM11 director, Didier wrote to the Science Center that he would waive payment of the invoices due to the Center's financial situation, "until the date when a solution has been found with the Ministry of Education that will allow the LSC to fulfil its payment obligations."

The IGF also highlighted that to its knowledge, "there is currently no formal commitment nor explicit decision providing for the State to bear any costs relating to the possible second phase of the LSC and [..] the modular building project."

Ministry of Education spokesperson Lex Folscheid confirmed to RTL in April that the government had not committed to the expansion project, while Didier himself told RTL in an interview that the Science Center council had not formally decided to give GGM11 the contract for the work, even before he re-billed the Center for the plans.

Didier had knowingly forwarded the invoices on to the Center in May. However, the non-profit treasurer declined to comment on the matter when asked. It is unclear as to whether Didier explained that neither the ASBL nor the government had committed to the expansion works.

According to RTL sources, the Science Center is set to hand in a proposal for new management to the Ministry of Education over the coming days. This prerequisite was set by the Ministry in order to issue subsidies to the Center once more, after the previous funding agreement was cancelled in April.

The IGF report published last week stated that as president of the Science Center, Didier had been contractor, client, and employee, and that his private company GGM11 worked exclusively for the LSC, representing an undeniable conflict of interest in the eyes of the IGF.

The question now is what role Didier is likely to play in the new management proposal, and whether the Ministry of Education will even accept the proposal. The Science Center could feasibly function until autumn 2023 without further State subsidies, but once the money runs out, it would have to be dismantled.