The Attorney General’s Office and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency strengthen the fight against corruption

Press release

Madrid, June 19, 2023.- The Attorney General of the State, Álvaro García Ortiz, and the directors of the anti-fraud agencies and offices of different autonomous communities, including that of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares, have signed on Monday a collaboration agreement that aims to strengthen the fight against corruption. The other signatories are the heads of the anti-fraud agencies of the Balearic Islands, Cristóbal Milán; Catalonia, Miguel Ángel Gimeno; and Andalusia, Ricardo Puyol.

The agreement, which has an initial validity of four years, is part of a strategic plan to fight corruption and fraud promoted by the Attorney General’s Office. Its objective is to establish lines of collaboration between the signatory institutions in those areas in which the competences normatively attributed to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and to the Anti-Fraud Offices or Agencies converge.

In this way, when any of the signatory Offices or Agencies are aware that the facts they are examining or have been able to examine may be related to the facts being investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, they will interrupt their proceedings and make available to the Prosecutor the information they have, in addition to providing the necessary assistance.

On the other hand, and without prejudice to the functions attributed to the Court of Auditors and to the bodies with administrative-sanctioning competence, when as a result of its investigations the Public Prosecutor’s Office obtains indications of the commission of facts that could constitute an administrative offense, it will transfer them to the Anti-Fraud Agencies and will make available the necessary documentation for its action. Cases in which the secret processing of the proceedings is necessary in order not to prejudice the investigation are excluded.

Likewise, if on the occasion of its intervention in a judicial procedure in which it is a party, the Public Prosecutor’s Office concludes that the facts incur administrative irregularities, in addition to procedurally positioning itself urging what is appropriate, it will request the judicial body to send testimony of sufficient background to the anti-fraud agencies, which in turn will inform the Prosecutor’s Office of the result of their actions. All this with the exception of the cases in which the secret processing of the proceedings is necessary.

Anti-fraud bodies shall support the Public Prosecutor’s Office through opinions, reports or other technical actions as necessary. In addition, the Attorney General’s Office and anti-fraud agencies will organize training activities aimed at the staff of the signatory institutions and will collaborate in the protection of whistleblowers, witnesses and experts in accordance with the current legal framework.

19 German lawyers in training visit the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency to learn how it works

Press release

Valencia, June 12, 2023.- A total of 19 German lawyers in training from Cologne have visited the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency to learn first-hand about aspects of the Agency’s operation such as the development of investigations, the complaints mailbox or the protection of whistleblowers of corruption.

Throughout the morning staff of the Agency in the areas of analysis and research, legal, prevention, computer and training have explained to them what the work that is carried out on a day-to-day basis in each of the departments consists of.

The group is composed of 19 lawyers who have passed the entrance exam and this visit is part of the training program. The students have actively participated by asking questions about different aspects of the work carried out by the Agency.

Once the visit to the Agency was over, the group took a guided tour of the Corts Valencianes, headquarters of the Valencian Parliament.

The Hay Derecho Foundation presents “El Dedómetro” where it analyzes the level of politicization and cronyism in the appointment of the heads of 30 public entities of the Valencian Community

Press release

Valencia, June 8, 2023.- The Hay Derecho Foundation has presented at a press conference at the headquarters of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency the investigation that bears the name “El Dedómetro”.

This study is analyzed through the collection and analysis of public data, the curriculum of 66 heads of the main public entities of the Valencian Community in the last decade and under governments of different political signs. The final analysis reveals that 33 of them fail in terms of the principles of merit and ability, with less than a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. 

The result is part of the conclusions of a data research carried out by Hay Derecho that analyzes, in total, 101 CVs of management personnel of 43 public entities of two autonomous communities of opposite political sign: the Community of Madrid and the Valencian Community.

Hay Derecho, a non-profit organization that defends the rule of law and fights against corruption, has created indicators that, based on the collection and analysis of public data, allow evaluating whether the selection processes of the highest managers reflect the principles of merit and capacity or on the contrary it is cronyism and exchange of favors

For the analysis of the suitability of top managers, the methodology takes into account academic training, general and specific professional experience in the sector he directs, as well as management experience, time spent in the position and political linkage.

The research, which is called “The Dedometer”, highlights that the system does not establish objective, transparent and concurrent procedures to guarantee the principles of merit and capacity in its selection. And yet, these managers manage average budgets of 184 million euros of public money and have salaries of up to 220,000 euros per year.

Those responsible for managing public companies in key sectors such as transport, media or finance, among others, are exposed to very high levels of turnover, mainly linked to changes in government. In the Valencian Community, 3 entities stand out that have come to have between 5 and 7 different managers in a decade.

The Dedometer analyzes data between 2012 and 2022 and points to a slight improvement in the profile of the heads of public entities when governments lack an absolute majority. The very high turnover of managers is striking, which highlights that appointments and dismissals are linked to political cycles and not to management performance or other professional criteria.

The results, however, improve in the case of public entities that have a selection regulation that specifies the process and the type of professional experience required for the position. In these cases, the analysis of the Dedometer shows that there is a tendency to select candidates with a longer and specialized professional career, although unfortunately not always with greater management experience.

However, even in these entities, turnover does not decrease, except in cases where there are fixed periods of mandate.

Another key feature of the report is the analysis of compliance with transparency laws: only 6 entities fully comply with transparency regulations. 80% fail to comply with at least one of the legal obligations such as publication of accounting information, or the name and professional career of its chief executive, among other data. Even one of them, Economic and Business Spaces, with 4 employees and a budget of 94 million euros, does not even have its own website where to host the information that the law requires to publish.

The research reveals that 47% of entities do not publish their salaries, 33% do not show the curriculum of their top managers – or do so incompletely – and 13% do not publish accounting information.

“Behind an unpublished or incompletely published curriculum there is not only a legal breach, there may also be an intention to hide the trajectory of someone not too qualified or a purely political career,” says Javier Zamora, head of research at Hay Derecho.

“From Hay Derecho we believe that it is necessary to apply protocols that ensure the active and accessible publication of all information, establish a standardized CV model for public sector managers and hold the top manager responsible for compliance with transparency obligations,” says Safira.

Joan Llinares, director of the Agency, was also present at the press conference, who stated that “we want to thank the work developed by the Hay Derecho Foundation with the preparation of this study as it offers us a vision of what is happening in terms of the selection of management staff in the public sector and especially at a time like the current one in which the selection will proceed and appointment of new managers following the electoral processes”.

Hay Derecho has conducted such research before. In 2020, the first Dedometer focused on evaluating the General State Administration from a series of regulatory bodies and a sample of 36 entities belonging to the public business sector such as Correos, AENA, Red.es or Paradores. The results were: a high level of turnover, with entities that had up to 9 maximum managers during a period of 15 years, little experience in management and little experience in the matter of the maximum managers analyzed. Improved findings in independent authorities, which set specific requirements and mandates with fixed durations for their top managers

In the second research, the different entities of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona were analyzed, evaluating not only those most responsible, but also their transparency.

The Hay Derecho Foundation is a non-profit, independent foundation that works to defend the rule of law, good institutional functioning and promote the fight against corruption.

Hay Derecho has recently joined the Consell de Participació of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.