"If the OGBL wants to go to court, let it go to court. It will cost lawyers on both sides and we'll see what happens." Christian Billon doesn't even shrug his shoulders. Not his style. “We couldn't contemplate transferring the organisation simply because when we were commissioned by Caritas to imagine what would happen next, we had no guarantee that we would sign the agreements that we finally did. The state wanted to have confidence.”
"Nothing we did went against employment law. Even their weekend and evening working hours were not included in their contracts of employment, but in the internal regulations - that doesn't change a thing! And they had the time they needed to familiarise themselves with their new contracts. Obviously, with all the publicity surrounding this affair, the climate was one of anxiety! We spoke to the two Caritas delegations in the same way, with the same information, and we obtained an exemption from [the labour inspectorate] ITM, without ever neglecting social dialogue, on the contrary".
"And signing these agreements was no mean feat," added the former auditor during the first press conference organised since the Caritas scandal broke, held on Tuesday afternoon. "You have to study them and be sure that the devil is not hiding in the detail. There are a few more conditions, only one payment per month, an audit to be financed and not all the agreements were signed from the outset, we had a very negative response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
"And yet", continued Billon, who will continue to run Hut until a new managing director has been recruited, "the quality of the international service was real. ISO 9000, very competent staff, very dedicated, very committed. Following this tragedy, there was a shortfall of €5m, which meant that they were forced to stop their activities".
It was this €5m that the Archdiocese did not want to contribute, believing that this would jeopardise the institution's other activities.
"We asked philanthropists to give us a hand and take over the international activities," continued Billon, while several members of the new team and the PwC partner, Tiphaine Gruny, who has been working on the transition, nodded regularly. "And no one has lifted a finger. Yet Caritas employees are the victims of this fraud. I would have been sad if they hadn't worked for another organisation. I intervened with Caritas Internationalis. They couldn't give any more. International activities came to a halt in southern Sudan and Laos. There were 50 direct redundancies in Sudan, I saw people in tears, it was absolutely scandalous."
“All the people I saw were reassured”
On Tuesday morning, at the same time as the contracts were signed, a 'king size' Teams meeting was organised, an opportunity to explain, put things into perspective and reassure. Salaries were paid in July, August and September, but it was time to move on. "Today, we have reached this essential date for starting activities in a calm environment. All the people I met were reassured. We want to continue the work we've started. We want to fight against precariousness, in housing, food, social and legal aid, and our action is also aimed at the homeless, unaccompanied minors, all those people in extremely fragile situations", Billon pointed out.
"We help between 2,000 and 3,000 people in over twenty hostels. Our employees try to give them back their dignity, hope and courage. To work towards social cohesion. In these homes live people who are beneficiaries and applicants. If housing is a problem for everyone, you can imagine how complicated it is for these people. I myself was affected by my family history during the Second World War, and I'm determined to help these migrants as far as we can. The people who work there are respectable and remarkable. These people are forgotten by society, we're fine in Luxembourg, we're spoilt."
A word was given to the civil servants in the ministries involved, under the leadership of the prime minister (CSV)'s chief of staff and another to the City of Luxembourg, with which a new agreement has also been signed.
What happens to the old structures involved in the CEO impersonation fraud is no longer his responsibility. "Ask the board of directors," he replied to a question.
Hut has to find a new general management team, the first publication of the advertisements attracted applications, and a new round will perhaps invite others to apply, with quite specific requirements, whether in terms of knowledge of the Luxembourg ecosystem, relations with the authorities, empathy or management skills... "You need a lot of qualities that make these profiles quite rare... There aren't many of them in the marketplace", he said.
"What disgusted me most of all", the man who had to deal with the BCCI* scandal finally conceded after nearly an hour of questions and answers, "was how these gangsters who dreamed up this unbelievable rubbish came to siphon off the money we use to help the most disadvantaged. I wanted to save 350 jobs. I put all my energy into that! Today, we will all continue to roll up our sleeves. And while everything is being put back together, the two foundations, Félix Chomé and La Luxembourgeoise, will set up a working capital fund.
*The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), which had its headquarters on Boulevard Royal, hit the headlines in 1991 due to massive fraud. It went bankrupt with more than €20bn in debts.