This is the section of the Creutz & Partners website dealing with reports from whistleblowers. A whistleblower (or “reporting person”) is a person who observes violations of the law and reports them. Whistleblowers can help to detect and remedy unlawful situations. The law provides protection for persons who report violations in good faith.
The whistleblowing procedure is not intended for customers to submit complaints, contact Creutz & Partners or report personal conflicts with Creutz & Partners or one of its business partners.
What may be reported?
The whistleblower may report any violation of national and/or European Union law, i.e. acts or omissions that:
are unlawful; or
defeat the object or purpose of directly applicable provisions of national or EU law.
2. Who can submit a report?
Any person who, in a professional context (current, past or future employment relationship), observes actual or potential violations can submit a report, regardless of whether they are an employee, a self-employed person, a shareholder, a member of the administrative, management, or supervisory body of Creutz & Partners, a volunteer, an intern, or a person working under the direction of contractors or suppliers.
3. Internal reporting
Creutz & Partners must provide internal reporting channels and procedures and ensure that appropriate follow-up measures are taken.
The persons wishing to report violations of the law are encouraged to use the internal reporting system before resorting to external reporting, unless internal reporting could be harmful to them.
3.1. Reporting channels
Creutz & Partners has established the following internal reporting channels:
Via the whistleblowing form on this website;
In writing on paper, addressed to: Creutz & Partners the Art of Asset Management S.A., Supervisory Board, Confidential – 18, Duarrefstrooss, L-9944 Beiler
3.2. May a report be made anonymously?
A report of a violation may be made entirely anonymously at the discretion of the whistleblower. However, if the whistleblower does not leave any contact details, Creutz & Partners will not be able to get in touch to request additional information, give explanations or to provide feedback.
3.3. Follow-up measures and processing of the report by Creutz & Partners
Creutz & Partners will immediately, and in any event no later than 7 days of the date of receipt of the report, acknowledge receipt of the report via the contact details provided by the reporting person.
Creutz & Partners diligently investigates reports, verifies the accuracy of the information provided in the report and takes corrective measures against the reported violation if necessary.
Upon completion of the procedure, but no later than three months after sending the acknowledgement of receipt, Creutz & Partners will provide the whistleblower with feedback on their report.
3.4. What protection does a whistleblower enjoy?
Any form of retaliation against the whistleblower, including threats and attempts of retaliation, is prohibited.
In order to be protected from any form of retaliation, the whistleblower must:
Have sufficient reason to believe that the reported information about violations was true at the time of reporting and that such information falls within the scope of the law; and
have submitted a report either internally (via the reporting channels of Creutz & Partners), externally (via the reporting channels of the competent authority) or publicly (as a result of an unsuccessful internal or external report).
The reporting person does not lose protection solely because the report made in good faith has turned out to be incorrect or unfounded.
Intermediaries (persons who assist the reporting person in the reporting process and whose assistance should be confidential) and third parties associated with the reporting person enjoy the same protection.
3.5. Which confidentiality rules apply?
Creutz & Partners guarantees the confidentiality of the identity of the reporting person and any third party mentioned in the report.
Exceptions from this rule can only be made if the whistleblower has consented to the disclosure of their identity or if Creutz & Partners is legally obliged to do so. If Creutz & Partners is required by law to disclose the identity of the whistleblower or a third party, the whistleblower will be notified in advance of this disclosure, unless such notification would jeopardize the relevant investigations or legal proceedings.
3.6. Processing of personal data
What personal data are processed?
The following personal data may be collected and processed:
Surname and first name;
Address, e-mail address, telephone no.;
Any other personal information you provide us with.
What is the legal basis for the data processing?
In order to fulfil the obligations provided for by the Law of 16 May 2023, in particular with regard to the handling of reports, Creutz & Partners may be required to process personal data. In this respect, data processing is based on the fulfilment of legal obligations in accordance with Article 6(1), point c) GDPR.
Who receives my data?
Access to your personal data is restricted to Creutz & Partners employees responsible for the processing of the report.
In the event of a legal or statutory obligation, the data may also be transmitted to public authorities and institutions.
How long will my data be stored?
Personal data that is obviously not relevant for the handling of a specific report will not be collected or, in the event of unintentional collection, will be deleted immediately.
The personal data received through a report will be deleted immediately after the report has been fully processed.
4. External reporting
Persons who wish to report violations may submit an external report to the authorities competent to receive reports either after first reporting via internal reporting channels or by reporting directly via external reporting channels.
In addition to the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier („CSSF“), which is the competent authority for handling reports of violations of regulations in the financial sector, the following authorities in Luxembourg are, in particular, within their respective areas of competence, responsible for receiving and following up on reports:
the „Autorité de la concurrence“ (Luxembourg competition authority);
the „Inspection du travail et des mines, ITM“ (Luxembourg Inspectorate of Labour and Mines);
the „Commission nationale pour la protection des données, CNPD” (Luxembourg Data Protection Commission);
the „Centre pour l’égalité de traitement, CET“ (Luxembourg Equal Opportunities Centre);
the „Administration des contributions directes, ACD“ (Luxembourg Direct Tax Administration).
Anyone may contact the whistleblower reporting office (https://mj.gouvernement.lu/en/dossiers/2023/lanceurs-d-alerte.html) to obtain general information about the competent authority, depending on the nature of the report.
5. Public disclosure
A whistleblower who publicly discloses a violation is entitled to protection under the Law of 16 May 2023 if:
they first made either an internal and external report or a direct external report, but no appropriate action was taken in response to the report within 3 months following the report; or
they have reasonable grounds to believe that
the violation may pose an immediate or obvious threat to the public interest, e.g., in an emergency situation or in the event of a risk of irreversible damage; or
in the case of an external report, there is a risk of retaliation, or due to the specific circumstances of the case, there is little prospect of effective action being taken against the violation, for example because evidence could be concealed or destroyed, or if there could be collusion between an authority and the perpetrator of the violation, or if the authority could be involved in the violation.