The Agency participates in the 21st annual meeting of the EPAC/EACN held in Moldova

Press release

Valencia, November 23, 2022.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has participated virtually in the 21st annual meeting of the European Partners against Corruption (EPAC) and the European Conctact-Point network against corruption (EACN) in which more than 100 people from the 24 member countries have participated.

The celebration of the meeting in Moldova has conditioned the face-to-face attendance of the participants as this country borders Ukraine. At the meeting, Moldova’s efforts  in  implementing anti-corruption measures to build trust in citizens and for its incorporation as a member of the European Union were recognized.

The  plenary sessions have been divided into two: one related to the investigation in which real cases have been exposed and it has been concluded that it is very difficult to build a system to fight corruption and very easy to destroy it; and another related to international cooperation and exchange of information in which  the importance of cooperation between anti-corruption agencies and organizations has been highlighted.    and public institutions.

This meeting also agreed on the accession of new entities to the EPAC such as the EPPO (European Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office);  Internal Security Bureua of the Latvian Ministry of Internal Affairs; Chief Offcial Ethics Commission of Lithuania;  Internal and protection office of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova; Garda Inspectorate of Ireland and the State Bureau Investigation of Ukraine

With these additions, the EPAC is the largest network in Europe in the field of anti-corruption and fraud  and brings together different types of services, agencies, organizations, which represent the anti-corruption system of each country.

The Council also approved the establishment of three working groups:

  • Policy Advisory and Analysis Working Group (APA): to conduct analysis and assist the EPAC/EACN Council in providing opinions or advice on policy issues or public consultations.
  • Training and Knowledge Transfer Working Group (TTK) – to plan and conduct webinars aimed at the EACN community on relevant anti-corruption and policing issues;
  • Project Activities Developing and Implementing Working Group (DIPA): to initiate and develop project activities to promote the exchange of experience and best practices among EPAC/EACN members and observers.

Also at this meeting the candidacy of Ukraine “Anti-corruptionschool” programme https://www.undp.org/ukraine/press-releases/new-basic-online-course-trains-anti-corruption-officersn won the “2022 EPAC/EACN Award”.

Chisinau Declaration 2022

 

The Agency participates in Castellón in a conference organized by the Observatory against Corruption and the Castelló per la Justicia Platform

Press release

Castellón, November 16, 2022. The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency participated in the Conference on “New tools and new challenges in the fight against corruption: panoramic from the Valencian Country”.

The conference was organized by the Platform Castelló per la Justicia i Contra la Corrupció and the Observatori Ciutadà contra la Corrupció and the collaboration of the Conselleria de Participació de la Generalitat Valenciana and the Valencian Antifraud Agency.

Both the Castelló Platform and the Observatori Ciutadà are entities that are part of the Agency’s Participation Council, a body that aims to facilitate citizen participation in the fight against fraud and corruption.

The conference held in the Assembly Hall of the Provincial Council of Castellón was attended by Dolors Ibañez, president of the Castellón Platform; Rafael Mauri, vice president of the Observatori; Jorge Correcher, professor of Criminal Law at the University of Valencia and Joan Llinares, director of the Agency who presented the new legal framework for the protection of whistleblowers.

The Agency participates in Colombia in the IX National Congress of Comptrollers

Press release

Cali, November 16, 2022 .- The Director of Analysis and Research of the Agency, Gustavo Segura, participated in the IX National Congress of Controllers held in Cali (Colombia) on November 16 and 17.

This congress allowed an exchange of good practices and experiences between different agencies responsible for fiscal control, as well as the fight against fraud and corruption.

Throughout the different tables and presentations, different proposals from experts were announced on the strategies  that can be undertaken to strengthen citizen participation,  as well as existing  digital systems so that complaints can be made with full guarantee for people who report corruption.  

Among the speakers at the congress were Sandra Morelli Rico, former Comptroller of the Republic of Colombia or Rafael Lafont Piandeta, former magistrate of the Council of State of Colombia.

On behalf of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, the Director of Analysis and  Investigation, Gustavo Segura,  participated, who presented the work  being developed by the Agency and its main lines of work both in investigation as well as in training and prevention.

He also showed how the Agency’s complaints mailbox works as well as the Statute for the Protection of the Person Reporting Corruption since it was the first body in Spain to  have a protection system of these characteristics to protect whistleblowers.