More Pirate Party Resignations Amid App Controversy

Two Pirate Party members who had a popular mandate resigned from the party over the weekend over governance issues. Meanwhile, the party continues to grapple with the fallout from the Malt translation app controversy, which exposed internal divisions.

On Saturday, Steven Curfs, a councillor in Mondercange, announced that he had left the party “after long and serious consideration”, while Vincenzo Turcarelli, a councillor in Käerjeng, resigned on Sunday evening because St. John’s wort Luxembourg reported.

Both politicians said they would continue to serve as independent councillors.

Pirates fate hangs in the balance as parliament probes finances

After the separation of the legislators

The criticism of the Pirate Party leadership by Curfs and Turcarelli and the subsequent departures of members come less than a month after MP Ben Polidori left the party’s parliamentary group over differences over governance.

The spark that caused a commotion in the party was Luxembourg Times AND St. John’s wort Luxembourg an investigation has revealed that the National Office for Refugees (ONA) is trying to recover more than €92,000 from Pirates for a translation app called Malt.

Pirates blur the lines between party interests and private commercial interests

A confidential audit by budget watchdog IGF found that the Pirates submitted more than €90,000 in “impermissible” refund claims and paid party members to work on the app when external service providers could not be found.

Party leader Sven Clement’s private consulting firm, which he owns with former party member Jerry Weyer, was paid around €37,000 to develop the Malt app. In total, party members paid themselves around €58,000 to work on the app, which translated basic phrases from Arabic into Luxembourgish.

The audit has raised questions about whether and how the party will return the money. The pirates have so far rejected ONA’s request for a refund.

Pirate Party MP Marc Goergen filed a complaint with the Luxembourg prosecutor’s office last month, alleging that documents related to Malt’s language application were forged.

Pirate Dispute Goes to Prosecutor’s Office

Trouble

Polidori’s departure and the public rounds of accusations between Clement and Georgen sparked an investigation into the group’s finances. The parliament’s budget auditor, Settlement Courtundertook the task of examining the group’s financial documents for the years 2018–2023.

Polidori’s resignation means the opposition party has two seats in parliament – held by Clement and Goergen.

However, Goergen and Clement have been at odds since the Malta revelations, with the former accusing the latter of intimidating party colleagues and damaging the party’s reputation because of his commercial interests. Clement, in turn, accused his fellow MP of using almost €30,000 in parliamentary funds to cover private expenses this year.