“Ending corruption would help reduce public debt”, said the director of the Agency in the Investigation Commission of the Corts Valencianes

Press release

Valencia, September 06, 2022.- The director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares, appeared this morning before the Public Debt Investigation Commission of the Valencian Community in the Corts Valencianes.
In his speech, the director began by pointing out that the “central question is whether the public debt contracted is balanced with the financial capacity that each public administration has to deal with it and whether the investments made have a purpose and social return or are I could have dispensed with them as unnecessary.”
And to achieve this objective there is a fundamental tool such as “the evaluation of public policies linked to the principles of good governance, responsible management of public resources and solid control systems,” added Llinares.
He then presented the members of the Commission with different data and studies on the cost of corruption in the increase in public debt. Among these reports, the “Stopping corruption” report prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stands out, in which it is pointed out that corruption costs Spain about 60,000 million annually, which is equivalent to a negative impact on the GDP close to the 4.5 points.
Also the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMV) in a 2015 report states that “it is estimated that, in the absence of competitive pressure in public contracting, average upward deviations of up to 25% of the contracting budgets can be caused. ”. And at this point, the director of the Agency pointed out that “the CNMV has just imposed a penalty of 300 million euros on the main Spanish construction companies for dividing up and agreeing on prices for 25 years”
“Ending corruption, or at least reducing it, would certainly not end all public debt, but it would reduce borrowing needs and improve the financial capacity of public coffers, helping to build trust in politics and its representatives. and thus strengthening the democratic system”, concluded Llinares.
You can access the entire intervention on the Corts Valencianes YouTube channel here:

VAERSA ​​and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency sign a collaboration agreement to develop a framework of integrity and public ethics

Press release

Valencia, July 13, 2022.- The public company of the Generalitat Valenciana Valenciana D’Aprofitament Energètic de Residus, S.A. (VAERSA) and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency have signed a collaboration agreement for the implementation of fraud and corruption prevention activities and the promotion of ethics and public integrity.
The agreement is the first that the Agency signs with a public company and has been signed by the general director of VAERSA, Ferran Vicent García, and by the director of the Agency, Joan Llinares.
Among the actions contemplated by the agreement is that of complying with the requirements of the European Directive 2019/1937 regarding the protection of people who report violations of Union Law with the recognition by VAERSA ​​as an external channel of their complaints to the Agency’s Complaints Mailbox and adhere to it.

In order for the Agency’s Complaints Mailbox to act as an external channel for VAERSA ​​complaints, this entity undertakes to include in a visible place on its website, or any other support it deems appropriate, the link to the AVAF Complaints Mailbox along with clear and precise information about its function and purpose.

The Riba-roja de Túria City Council and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency sign a collaboration protocol to develop public integrity frameworks

Press release

València, July 4, 2022. The mayor of Riba-roja, Robert Raga, has signed a collaboration agreement with the director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares, which aims to articulate a mechanism to fight fraud and corruption by implementing prevention channels against possible cases of irregularities in the field of local administration.
Local administrations with more than 10,000 inhabitants are obliged to have reporting channels for possible cases or situations of corruption. In addition, they must have external, independent and autonomous channels, to guarantee the integrity of the information, allow it to be stored, carry out new investigations, prevent its access to unauthorized personnel and do not reveal information that could identify the complainant.
To help the Valencian public administrations in achieving these objectives, the Agency provides advice on integrity, public ethics and the prevention and fight against corruption, collaborating in the training of personnel, helping with the competent bodies in conflicts of interest and incompatibilities to prevent and correct actions that could infringe the applicable regime in each case, in addition to contributing to the creation of a social culture of rejection of corruption, with public awareness programs or in coordination with public administrations.
The mayor of Riba-roja de Túria, Robert Raga, has underlined the importance of the protocol with the Anti-Fraud Agency of the Community “because it represents another step in the purpose of this government team to promote transparent and participatory policies in the management of public resources, in addition to continuing the path undertaken years ago to equip ourselves with all the legal instruments that avoid possible irregularities or possible cases of corruption in the administration”.
“The signing of this agreement with the Riba-roja Town Hall marks the beginning of a collaboration between both institutions to work on the prevention and fight against fraud and corruption. From the Agency we want to help prepare anti-fraud plans, as well as the construction of frameworks of ethics and public integrity, complying with the requirements derived from the entry into force of the European Directive 1937/2019 on the protection of people who report corruption. ”, declared Joan Llinares, director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.