The 5 regional anti-fraud agencies and offices meet in Palma de Mallorca to discuss the impact of the future Whistleblower Law

Press release

Mallorca, January 19, 2023.-

On January 18, the heads of the regional anti-fraud and corruption agencies and offices met in Palma de Mallorca to coordinate the actions to be followed on the occasion of the entry into force of the Law that transposes into the Spanish legal system known as the Whistleblower Directive.

This European Directive 1937/2019 of the European Parliament refers to the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law.

In addition to the staff that holds the direction in each of the agencies and offices, they were present at the meeting of the legal services to discuss the impact that the state law that is currently in the Senate after its approval by the Congress of Deputies may have on the respective laws and regulations.

The meeting held at the headquarters of the Balearic Parliament was attended by the Antifrau Office of Catalonia; the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption of the Balearic Islands; the Andalusian Office against Fraud and Corruption; the Office of Good Practices and Anticorruption of Navarra and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.

The City Council of Dénia and the Agency sign a protocol to implement the complaint boxes and the Integrity Plan

Press release

Valencia, December 21,  2022.- The mayor of Dénia, Vicent Grimalt 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 of Dénia 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  European Directive 1937/2019 on the protection of people who report breaches of Union Law, better known as the Whistleblowers Directive.

The Aandanointing  of Dénia to enable as an external channel of complaints 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.

Likewise, the Agency will offer advice and support for the preparation of the plan of anti-fraud measures necessary to be eligible for European Next Generation funds  as set out in Ministerial Order 1030/2021 by which the management system of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan is configured.

For the mayor of Dénia, Vicent Grimalt, “The assessment of the firm is positive, because the City of Dénia works to ensure that, in its scope of action, public funds have been used in accordance with the applicable regulations, in particular, with regard to the prevention, detection and correction of fraud, the  corruption and conflicts of interest. In addition, the City Council has a clear commitment to transparency, for this reason it has achieved the Infoparticipa seal  in the  last two editions and is one of the most transparent municipalities in the Valencian Community.

For his part, the director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, said that “it is positive to see how every day more municipalities  and institutions begin to equip themselves with instruments to fight fraud and corruption and they do so not only with reactive measures such as reporting channels, but also from prevention with training and awareness actions. “

“It is undoubtedly good news that  the City of Dénia will have complaint mailboxes, both internal and external, but more important is if possible that it has committed to approve a municipal Integrity Plan”, added Llinares.

The Consell de Participació of the Agency renews its members and the vice-presidency falls on the Observatori Ciutadà contra la Corrupció

Press release

Valencia, December 13,  2022.- The Consell de Participació of the  Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency  has elected Rafael  Mauri  of the Observatori Ciutadà contra la Corrupción as the  new vice president, who replaces Ana María Fuertes of the Foundation for Justice.

The Consell de Participació is the Agency’s participation body and  civic  and social organizations are part of  it that stand out for their fight against fraud and  corruption and for the promotion of ethics and public integrity.

During the session, in addition to the votes for the renewal and  election of the  vice-presidency,  which were made  telematically and present, the professor and doctor in Political Science, Fernando Jiménez, presented the main results of the  1st Survey of Perception of the Corporation in Spain and in the Valencian Community   carried out by the Agency.

The meeting  also analyzed the  current state of the transposition of the European Directive 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union Law, better known  as the Whistleblower Directive, as well as the draft law currently in process.

The meeting took place in the Sala Vinatea of Les Corts  Valencianes, which is why the President of Les Corts,  Enric Morera, came to greet the members of the Consell de Participació.

The renewal of the members of  the Consell de Participació has been for a new period of three years and  has been constituted by the following organizations: Civic Action against Corruption; Whistleblowers; Valencian Association of Consumers and Users (AVACU);  Fundación Internaiconal Baltasar Garzón (FIBGAR); Foundation for Justice; Observatori Ciutadà contra la Corcorrupción (OCC); Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE); Plataforma Ciutadana Castelló per la Justicia i contra la Corrupció; Trade Union of Technicians of the Ministry of Finance (GESTHA); Tactical Whistleblowers; Transparency International Spain and World Compliance Association.