The City Council of Algemesí and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency sign a protocol to launch the complaint mailboxes and the Integrity Plan

Press release

Algemesí, February 28,  2023.- The mayor of Algemesí, Marta Trenzano, and the director of the  Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares, have signed a collaboration protocol between both institutions that will help promote the Integrity Plan in which the City Council of Algemesí is working.

Within the general lines of the Integrity Plan, the implementation of both internal and external complaint mailboxes is contemplated, thus complying with the  requirement  of the new Law 2/2023 regulating the protection of people who report on regulatory infractions and the fight against corruption.

With this Law published in the BOE on February 21, the European Directive 1937/2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union Law, better known as the Whistleblowers Directive, is transposed into Spanish law.

The Aandanointing  of Algemesí will  enable as an external channel of denunciations the mailbox of complaints of the Valencia Antifraud Agency which will be visible on the municipal website;  A mailbox that guarantees the confidentiality of whistleblowers, as well as allows the possibility of being able to make complaints anonymously.

The collaboration between both institutions will  also extend to other actions and activities such as those of a formative nature where the staff of the municipality will receive training in aspects related to the promotion of ethics and public integrity, as well as the prevention and detection of situations constituting fraud and corruption.

The Integrity Plan of the City Council of Algemesí will contain, among others, an institutional declaration of integrity; incorporating institutional integrity into strategic planning; enabling a specific internal whistleblowing channel and connecting to the Agency’s external whistleblowing channel; the regulation and management of conflicts of interest; the training of City Council staff in matters of integrity or the promotion and dissemination of the culture of ethics and public integrity.

The mayor of Algemesí, Marta Trenzano was very grateful to the Agency for the accompaniment and advice in the fight against fraud and in favor of the protection and transparency of public administrations.

For his part, the director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, has declared that “this is the first agreement that the Agency signs after the publication of the new Law on the Protection of Informants and where public administrations have 3 months from the entry into force to equip themselves with these internal and external complaint mechanisms”.

“Compliance with the requirement of external complaint mailboxes in the Valencian Community can be easily resolved by having an Anti-Fraud Agency and for this it is only necessary that each administration, company or institution includes next to its internal complaints mailbox the address of the external complaints mailbox of the Agency. The Agency offers assistance and advice in the implementation of both external and internal mailboxes and the  only requirement is to sign a protocol regulating such collaboration,” added Llinares.

Declarations by the Mayoress of Algemesi

Declarations by the AVAF director 

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency meets in Brussels with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

Press release

Valencia, 27 February 2023.- The  Director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, accompanied by the Director of Analysis and Research, Gustavo Segura, and the  Deputy Director and Legal Services, Teresa Clemente, met in Brussels with technical and management staff of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

This meeting has allowed to strengthen the  channels of collaboration between both institutions that will materialize in aspects such as the training of  their staff, the exchange of  information, as  well as the sharing of  experiences and good practices in investigative work or the protection of whistleblowers of corruption.

In recent years the Agency has carried out research actions in the Valencian Community in coordination with OLAF regarding the granting of European subsidies to different institutions and public administrations.

OLAF is the European Anti-Fraud Office created in 1999 by the European Parliament to combat fraud, corruption and other activities affecting the EU budget including irregularities within the European institutions.

The Director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, said that “this meeting has shown the  support  by OLAF for the work done by the Agency’s staff in those institutions in which it has requested collaboration”.

“In addition, the relationship between both institutions will intensify in the coming months with the exchange of experiences, training actions and agile and effective communication channels between the staff of the different areas of both institutions that will undoubtedly result in the work that is done on a day-to-day basis,” added Llinares.

The European Commission publishes its Manual of Good Anti-Corruption Practices and recognises the AVAF as one of the best experiences in the fight against fraud and corruption

Press release

The aim of this Handbook is to map the different anti-corruption practices implemented in the different offices and agencies of the member states of the European Union that have proven useful in solving problems related to corruption and that can inspire similar initiatives in other countries.

For this purpose, an established or innovative anti-corruption good practice was selected, with aspirations of positive impact in each EU Member State, and grouped into eight types of anti-corruption approaches. The Handbook is structured along these identified types.

Each chapter consists of a theoretical part on the respective type of anti-corruption approach and is illustrated with corresponding case studies. To ensure transferability, the analysis of the case studies focuses on the mechanisms of implementation, the estimated costs of such a practice, and its results and limitations.

This Handbook has been a collaborative effort between the Ecorys research team and the Local Corruption Investigation Correspondents (LRCC) in eachMember State and  gathers the best experiences and initiatives launched by all European agencies dedicated to preventing and combating fraud and corruption.

The European Commission has selected the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency and you can access the information referred to in the Manuto the Good Practices specifically in section 8.2.2 page 182 and ss.

You can consult the manual at the following link:

Manual de Buenas Prácticas en la Lucha contra la Corrupción