Khabirpour sits on the board of Banque International a Luxembourg, one of the country’s biggest banks, and is a director of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange – both institutions the CSSF regulates.  Her appointment to the board of CSSF as a senior advisor to Luc Frieden, and her network of other positions give the appearance of impropriety.

Does this staffing decision violates the “principles of good corporate governance”.  The head of ProtInvest, an investor-protection group, has sent a letter to Michel Barnier, an EU commissioner, in which he criticised Mr Frieden’s move as political.

Ms Khabirpour’s multiple jobs showcase the cosy relationships that tie Luxembourg’s business community, which centres largely on fund management, to its regulators and political leaders, suggests Fred Reinertz, ProtInvest’s president.
“It seems that the minister of finance does not care about the principles of good corporate governance,” Mr Reinertz wrote. “[Ms Khabirpour’s appointment] represents a conflict of interest and a flagrant violation of the basic principles of good governance.”
The CSSF refuted the “unfounded allegations” in a statement. Mr Frieden and Ms Khabirpour also deny the claims, arguing Mr Reinertz’s actions are politically motivated. The finance minister’s office is drafting a letter to Mr Barnier to defend itself against the allegations.

Meanwhile, Khabirpour spends her downtime in running guru Eric Orton’s Cool Impossible.  PROFILE INFORMATION How many years have you been running?  12
What is your goal race for the year? In general better performance, right training and technique, run 10K under 50 minutes
What is your greatest running accomplishment?
Greatest…10K in 53 minutes and trails from 60 to 80km
What is your “ultimate dream” running goal?
To become the athlete runner Eric Orton describes in his book

She just may be too busy running to do much damage.