The discovery of a civil servant's alleged timekeeping fraud in Hesperange has raised questions about systemic failures and prompted opposition parties to call for intervention from the Minister for Home Affairs.
Opposition politicians in the municipality of Hesperange have called on Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden to intervene following revelations of systemic fraud by a civil servant. The case, uncovered by investigative news site Reporter.lu, has raised serious questions about oversight and transparency within the local administration.
In an article published on Monday, Reporter.lu detailed how a staff member in the personnel office massively abused the timekeeping system to record more hours than he actually worked since joining in 2019. Suspicious colleagues began documenting his absences, revealing that in the weeks before his suspension, he had virtually stopped showing up for work altogether.
The scandal has drawn attention not only to the individual's actions but also to the lack of effective control mechanisms within the municipality. According to Reporter.lu, it took two years for the fraud to be detected, despite Hesperange's history of embezzlement scandals and conflicts of interest. This latest incident appears to suggest that little has been done to address systemic issues.
In response, opposition parties – the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), the Pirate Party, and the Green Party (Déi Gréng) – have written to Minister Gloden, requesting permission to pursue legal action independently. The municipality itself has yet to file a formal complaint against the civil servant and has declined to discuss the matter in the municipal council.
Additionally, the majority parties, the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) and the Democratic Party (DP), have rejected calls from the opposition to convene an emergency meeting to address the issue.
