The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency participates in Vienna in a meeting with anti-corruption authorities from all over Europe

Press release

Valencia, October 3, 2023.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has participated for two days in a working meeting with anti-corruption agencies and authorities from other countries belonging to the European Partners against Corruption (EPAC) and the European contact-point network against corruption (EACN).

The meeting took place at the headquarters of the Anti-Corruption Office of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Austria, and aimed to share information and experiences on the protection that is being offered to whistleblowers of protection after the entry into force of the European Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of whistleblowers,  better known as the Whistleblower Directive.

In the case of Spain, Law 2/2023 on the protection of whistleblowers of corruption was approved in February of this year and the Civil Guard and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency were present at the meeting.

Countries such as Belgium, Romania, France, Portugal, Italy, Lithuania or Bulgaria participated in the conference that also included the interventions of Laura Balli, president of the European Network of Integrity and Protection Authorities of Corruption Whistleblowers (NEIWA) who explained the important role played by internal reporting channels, confidentiality or the creation of a culture of protection towards corruption whistleblowers.

Luka Mak from Transparency International reviewed the different national legislations that have transposed the European Directive; and showed the limitations and benefits of the use of anonymity in this type of reporting and the problems that people who decide to report may suffer.

In her speech, Monica Kalinauskiené from Lithuania pointed out that, although the main objective of the transposition of the Directive was the protection of whistleblowers, there are also other objectives that we must not forget, such as transparency, the prevention of corruption or the promotion of ethical conduct.

Fiona Springer of the Austrian Financial Markets Authority offered data such as that 78% of the complaints that receive the communication are limited merely to the complaint, while in 22% of cases they have a direct relationship with the complainant. He also explained what must be done and what must not be done with respect to transparency, communication or anonymity.

The former adviser to the Ministry of the Interior and director of the Foreign Office of the Austrian Government, Martin Kreutner, referred to the importance of trust for citizens to decide to denounce.

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency was the first authority in Spain to approve a Statute for the protection of whistleblowers of corruption and currently has 34 people and one company under protection. and the Agency is currently in the process of tendering for the contracting of a support service and psychological attention for whistleblowers of corruption.

These meetings are held periodically as a tool to improve the respective work strategies of European anti-corruption agencies and authorities and the next meeting will take place in Dublin in November.

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency receives the visit of personnel of the Autorità Nazionale Anticorruzione of Italy (ANAC)

Press release

Valencia, September 22, 2023.- This Thursday and Friday, staff of the National Anti-Corruption Authority of Italy (ANAC) have been carrying out an exchange with the staff of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.

The objective of this activity is to share experiences and learn about the functioning of both bodies dedicated to the fight against fraud and corruption. In this visit, four people from ANAC, two from the area of protection of whistleblowers of corruption and another two from the legal field, have been meeting with the staff of each of the areas of the Agency who have explained the work they are doing.

Thus, they have held meetings with the legal area and protection of whistleblowers of corruption; the area of analysis and research and the area of training, prevention and documentation.

The ANAC staff also made a presentation to all the Agency’s staff, where they explained how this Italian body works, which is responsible for the fight against fraud and corruption throughout Italy and in which more than 400 people work.

This is the first of the exchanges with other European anti-fraud and anti-corruption bodies and will be completed by a visit by Agency staff to ANAC headquarters in Rome.

Sharing experiences, exchanging information, as well as learning about different ways of dealing with the fight against fraud and corruption are of great value for people working in these European bodies, especially in agencies that have fewer years of experience such as the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.

The ANAC officials have completed the stay with a guided tour of the Corts Valencianes.

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency publishes a catalogue of risks in the field of public procurement

Press release

Valencia, September 19, 2023.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, in compliance with its advisory functions for the development of public integrity frameworks, has prepared the “Catalogue of risks contrary to public integrity in the field of public procurement”.

This new catalogue stands as an indispensable reference tool in the Valencian public sector, with the aim of minimizing the risks of irregular management, fraud and corruption in the management of public funds. This material is aligned with the provisions of the recent Law 2/2023, on the protection of whistleblowers of corruption, the National Public Procurement Strategy 2023-2026, the European standard UNE-EN 17687 on “Public procurement: integrity and accountability” and Law 1/2022, on Transparency and Good Governance of the Valencian Community.

The catalogue structures the risks in two categories: the first corresponds to the general risks, which appear recurrently in the generality of entities and decision-making processes of the Valencian public sector; and the second corresponds to the specific risks that manifest themselves in each of the phases of public procurement, also including minor contracting and emergency processing.

The director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, pointed out that “with the preparation of this catalogue, the Agency reinforces its commitment to promoting integrity in the Valencian public sector. Not only do we seek to avoid the sanctioning regime, but we also focus our efforts on identifying and cataloguing risks in public procurement so that it is of help to the people who work in those agencies and institutions.”

It is a dynamic catalogue, subject to future updates and extensions, depending on the factors and circumstances that may influence its scope and effectiveness.

For more information, you can access the complete catalogue on the Agency’s website at this link:

https://www.antifraucv.es/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WEB_v2-Catalogo-de-Riesgos-Contratacion.pdf

In addition to this catalogue from the prevention area of the Agency, other catalogues of risks that affect the Valencian instrumental public sector or the catalogue of risks in decision-making processes have been prepared and are also available on the website.