The Agency and the Provincial Council of Castellón train public officials in the province to detect cases of fraud and corruption

Press release

Castellón, May 22, 2024.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency and the Provincial Council of Castellón have brought together public officials from all over the province in a training day related to institutional integrity and good governance, with the aim of raising awareness, informing and training all personnel with public positions in the province to prevent,  detect and correct cases of fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest.

The conference is part of the framework of the Collaboration Protocol signed between the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency and the Provincial Council of Castellón and has been led by Joan Linares, director of the Agency, and Teresa Clemente, deputy director and director of legal affairs who after their presentation have responded to the doubts and questions raised.

Among the topics discussed during the day were the obligations arising from Law 2/2023, of February 20, 2023, regulating the protection of people who report regulatory infractions and the fight against corruption.

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency presents the first study that compares the perception of corruption in Spain and Portugal

Press release

València, 17 May 2024.- This morning the research report on “Comparative perceptions of corruption in Spain and Portugal” was presented at a press conference at the headquarters of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.

The Professor of Political Science and Administration at the University of Murcia and head of the Chair of Good Governance and Public Integrity, Fernando Jiménez, and the researcher Gustavo Ouvêa from the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon were in charge of presenting the report. The event was also attended by the director of the Agency, Joan Llinares.

For the preparation of this report, which analyzes and compares perceptions of corruption in both countries, two national surveys have been carried out with common questions. The first of the surveys was carried out in Portugal within the framework of the EPOCA project with funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scientific coordination of the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon. The second of the surveys was carried out in Spain, with special attention to the Valencian Community, and is sponsored by the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency under the scientific coordination of the University of Murcia.

This report offers for the first time an X-ray of the perception that citizens have regarding different aspects related to corruption and ethics and public integrity in both Spain and Portugal.

Key results of the survey

It is in politics and business that the people surveyed consider corruption to be most prevalent. On average, Spaniards and Portuguese think that around 50% of businessmen and between 60-70% of politicians are corrupt. When asked about officials, the assessment that they are corrupt drops to 40%, which puts them on the same level as the rest of the citizenry.

The practice of corruption that most worries citizens is not so much the payment of bribes, which remains low (11% in Spain and 10% in Portugal, and is at the European average of 11%); but the corruption that stems from the interaction between politics and business.

70% of the people interviewed in Spain and 80% in Portugal believe that corruption is not a circumstance, but is part of the country’s business culture, compared to 60% of the European average.

There is a belief that to succeed in business is to have good contacts with politicians. Here we do find differences because while in Spain 49% of the people surveyed believe that political clientelism is necessary, which is in line with the European average of 50%, the percentage shoots up to 70% in the case of Portugal.

In general, the perception prevails that the ethical context in both countries has not improved, despite the efforts of the authorities to prevent and combat corruption, although the perception that corruption has been increasing in Portugal is greater than in Spain.

Facts about the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency

In this survey, the interviewees were also asked about issues that directly affect the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency and therefore it was only asked about the population of the Valencian Community.

One of the singularities that this report has highlighted with respect to the Valencian Community is that among Valencian respondents there is a greater predisposition to report, since 1 in 4 Valencians would report in case of corruption compared to 1 in 5 in other autonomous communities.

Likewise, Valencians have a 5 points higher expectation that their complaint will have results and 5 points less likely to suffer reprisals for their complaint.

Another question referred to the degree of knowledge that exists among citizens about the Agency and 32% said they were aware of its existence compared to 68%. By age, those under 34 years of age are the least aware of it (85%), while the 35-49 age group are the ones who know it the most with 37%.

And regarding the functions entrusted to the Agency, the best known by citizens is that of “protecting those who report cases of corruption”, followed by that of “detecting and punishing corrupt people”, “preventing corruption from occurring” and finally that of “training politicians, officials and students in ethical values”.

You can consult the report at the following link

U.S. Looks to Foreign Public Officials in Fight Against Corruption (FEPA Act)

Blog AVAF-En

On 21 January 2009, Barack Obama began his term as President of the United States with a speech in which he pledged that his term would be governed by transparency, participation and collaboration. These three pillars would define the open government  model that has permeated public policies around the world ever since.

Many of the actions, movements or decisions that are taken in one part of the world have their influence on the rest, especially if the one who makes them is a power like the United States.

Thus, in the field of the fight against corruption, we saw how during the 70s the succession of several corruption cases in the United States led the Securities and Exchange Commission (the equivalent in our country to the CNMV) to carry out an investigation that revealed that more than 400 companies had paid millions of dollars in bribes to public officials.

The direct consequence of this investigation was that in 1977 the U.S. government passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which became one of the main tools in the fight against corruption and is considered the “mother” law of compliance. From the point of view of its application, the FCPA attacked corruption from the perspective of active bribery, that is, from who offers the bribe.

It took until December 14, 2023 for the U.S. Congress to approve the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), which fills the loophole left by the FCPA by regulating passive bribery, i.e., the solicitation of bribes by a foreign public official.

Thus, while the FCPA applies to individuals and companies that pay or agree to pay bribes to foreign officials in exchange for business; FEPA makes it a crime for a foreign government official to demand, receive, or agree to receive a bribe from a U.S. company or individual. And it’s not just cash payments that are collected as bribes, “anything of value” is also included.

Foreign officials who solicit or accept bribes from U.S. entities could face up to $250,000 in fines and up to 15 years in prison.

The rule applies in addition to foreign government officials, to the “high-ranking political figure” that includes senior officials of political parties and senior executives of companies owned by the foreign government.

For the first time, and this is one of the novelties of the FEPA, the criminal liability of foreign public officials is included, which means that this rule has extraterritorial scope, although it remains to be seen what fit extradition agreements or power relations between governments have here.

The approval of the FEPA is part of the Biden Administration’s policy of fighting corruption as a key element of U.S. national security, positioning this country as one of the most advanced in the fight against corruption as it aims to eradicate foreign corruption at its source.

In this framework, the Biden Administration also approved the so-called 2021 Strategy to Counter Corruption, which together with FEPA provides the Department of Justice with new legal tools that allow it to criminally prosecute corrupt foreign officials who often escape justice in their countries of origin.

The FEPA has been approved as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for the year 2024, which in our country would be equivalent to the accompanying law, and had the support of both Republicans and Democrats, which shows how all American political parties join forces in the fight against corruption.

In the same way that the passage of the FCPA led to the birth of compliance and a greater awareness of the importance of the fight against corruption, it is expected that this new FEPA will also be a boost towards greater levels of ethics and integrity around the world.

Amalia López Acera

Head of institutional relations, communication and participation unit of the AVAF

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