Barcelona, 15 April 2026.– The Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB), through its Compliance Section, has organised the Meeting of Independent Whistleblower Protection Authorities (AIPI), a conference that brought together heads of key institutions in the field of whistleblower protection to address the main legal and practical challenges arising from the application of current regulations.

 

The session was inaugurated by Jorge Navarro Massip, vice-dean of the ICAB, and Maria Tornos de Gispert, president of the Compliance Section of the Association, while Beatriz Montoya Moya, member of the ICAB Compliance Section, was in charge of closing the interesting meeting.     

 

Elena Lacalle Seres, head of Prevention and Whistleblower Protection of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, participated as a speaker in the round table on the practical application and interpretative criteria in critical issues of the regulation. It addressed key issues such as the notification of those responsible for the Internal Information Systems, the criteria for referring facts with possible criminal relevance to the competent authority and the importance of guaranteeing the confidentiality of both the procedure and the investigation, even when it reaches the courts.

 

In turn, this table has had the interventions of Manuel Villoria Mendieta, president of the Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers; Ignacio Sáez Hidalgo, director of the cabinet of said Authority; and Ricardo Pedro Ron Latas, deputy director general of the Galician Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers.

 

The meeting highlighted that punishment should not be the axis of the system, but that prevention, training and accompaniment should be prioritised. However, in the face of reprisals against informants, the institutional response must be swift and firm.

 

The debate also focused on the legal regime, competences and institutional coordination of AIPIPs with contributions from Josep Tomàs Salàs Darrocha, director of the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia; Jesús María González García, president of the Transparency and Data Protection Council of Madrid; Francisco Sánchez Zamorano, director of the Andalusian Anti-Fraud Office; and Luis Gracia Romero, director of the Independent Authority on corruption of Castilla y León.

 

The conference, which brought together nearly 100 people, held at the ICAB headquarters, highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation between Independent Authorities throughout the territory is essential. Moving towards more structured coordination mechanisms is key to improving the effectiveness of the system.