London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

OpenLux : the secrets of Luxembourg, a tax haven at the heart of Europe

OpenLux : the secrets of Luxembourg, a tax haven at the heart of Europe

55,000 offshore companies managing assets worth at least 6 trillion euros.

It is a well-kept secret, a persistent mystery, a question that has been unresolved for years : what is the financial centre in Luxembourg hiding ? What would we find if we opened the safe of this tiny State located in the heart of the European Union, listed by many researchers in the world’s top 5 tax havens ? The OpenLux investigation, conducted by Le Monde along with ten media partners for more than a year, provides answers : 55,000 offshore companies managing assets worth at least 6 trillion euros.

These phantom companies without offices or employees were created by billionaires, multinationals, sportsmen, artists, high-ranking politicians and even royal families. Luxembourg acts as a magnet for the wealth of the world : in a territory of 2,586 km2, Tiger Woods and Cristiano Ronaldo rub shoulders with Shakira and the King of Bahrain. Hundreds of multinationals (LVMH, Kering, Altice, Pfizer, Amazon…) have opened financial subsidiaries. Wealthy families increase their real estate assets there.

More surprisingly, OpenLux reveals that questionable funds, suspected of originating in criminal activity or linked to criminals targeted by judicial investigations, have been concealed in Luxembourg. This is the case of companies linked to the Italian Mafia, the’Ndrangheta, and the Russian underworld. The League, Italy’s far-right party, has hidden a secret fund which is sought by the Italian authorities. People close to the Venezuelan regime have recycled corrupt government procurement funds.

To conduct this investigation, Le Monde has compiled a huge database that lists the beneficiaries of the 124.000 commercial companies registered in Luxembourg, i.e. their true owners, along with 3.3 million administrative acts and financial reports. These are documents that have recently been made public, but are only available on the Luxembourg trade register website. Le Monde was able to extract them in their entirety for analysis, in partnership with the Suddeutsche Zeitung in Germany, Le Soir in Belgium, McClatchy in the United States, Woxx in Luxembourg, IrpiMedia in Italy, and the OCCRP Consortium of investigative journalists.



157 nationalities represented

These investigations confirm that the Grand Duchy is, contrary to what the Luxembourg authorities claim, a veritable offshore centre, halfway between the City of London and the British Virgin Islands. Nearly 90 % of its « companies » are controlled by non-Luxembourgers. Among the 157 nationalities represented in this amazing « Who’s who », the French stand out : they head the list with, in total, more than 17.000 companies.

What they house is surprising : valuable property, here a castle near Paris owned by a Saudi prince, there a vineyard in Provence owned by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and an endless list of villas on the French Riviera and well-appointed Parisian apartments. But also flagships of the French economy, such as Yves Rocher, Chanel, JCDecaux and Decathlon. It’s almost as if Luxembourg owned small pieces of France.

The case of France is not isolated : it is also through Luxembourg companies that some investment funds buy whole swathes of cities such as Berlin and London, causing real estate prices to rocket without being identifiable or paying taxes. The list of international assets held in Luxembourg is a gigantic inventory, including luxurious residences, chalets, yachts, helicopters, private jets and big planes, music catalogues, the rights to images, works of art, in short, the list is endless.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×