LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Luxembourg's prosecutor said on Tuesday it would launch an appeal to strengthen sentences given to two former employees of accounting firm PwC (UL:PWC) for leaking of data about the country's tax deals with large corporations.
The appeal would also challenge the acquittal of a TV journalist, who made one of the first reports about the tax-saving arrangements between Luxembourg and international corporations, the prosecutor's spokeswoman said.
The data was also used in the high-profile 'LuxLeaks' revelations by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in November 2014.
Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet, both French, received suspended sentences of 12 and nine months respectively in June for releasing documents that showed how large corporations secured deals from Luxembourg to slash their tax bills.
They and French TV journalist Edouard Perrin had faced a range of charges ranging from violating secrecy laws to theft and IT fraud.
"The prosecutor has decided to appeal the verdict," a spokeswoman for the Luxembourg judiciary said. The case would be resumed as soon as possible, she added.
The case, which received much media attention outside the Grand Duchy, was seen as a balancing act for the judge between upholding Luxembourg's strict secrecy laws and protecting whistleblowers.