Members of parliament on Wednesday criticised Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden for letting Spuerkeess close two accounts held by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2025.
State-owned bank Spuerkeess decided in February 2025 to close the two accounts, the Luxemburger Wort reported. The bank had taken that decision because it was concerned about jeopardising its business with the United States, which had sanctioned the ICC that same month.
“We know that the bank asked the government for its opinion,” LSAP deputy Franz Fayot said during a parliamentary debate. “[The government] should have basically said that it is out of the question to close the accounts of a pillar of the international legal order.”
Luxembourg stood idly by as Spuerkeess closed ICC bank accounts
The ICC had held around €17 million in the two accounts in Luxembourg, but the court had transferred the money to the Netherlands in early 2025 in anticipation of US sanctions, which were imposed by US President Donald Trump in February 2025 on the grounds that the court had “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting (…) Israel.” Even so, the ICC kept its Spuerkeess accounts open.
The ICC in November 2024 had issued an arrest warrant against Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Frieden said in parliament on Wednesday that there are no alternatives to Luxembourg’s long-standing relations with the US. “This reality cannot simply be wiped away,” he said, adding that Luxembourg stands for values, for international law and for the ICC.
However, Frieden declined to say to what extent he had been privy to the ICC case and whether he considered the decision of the bank problematic. He said it would not fall under the responsibilities of the prime minister to comment on relations between the government-owned bank and a client.
“If you ask me abstractly, yes, I would have found it better if they could have stayed in Luxembourg and conducted their activities through Luxembourg,” the prime minister added.
Green party parliamentarian Sam Tanson rebuked Frieden’s remarks. “When we talk about international law and international institutions, it is not enough to simply make nice declarations of intent,” Tanson said.
(This story was originally published in the Luxemburger Wort, translated using AI and edited by Kate Oglesby.)
