The Attorney General’s Office and the Anti-Fraud Agencies of Andalusia, Catalonia and the Valencian Community hold a follow-up meeting on the agreement signed to strengthen the fight against corruption

Press release

València, 2 May 2024.- The Deputy Prosecutor of the Technical Secretariat, Diego Villafañe, and the prosecutor of that unit, Jordi Casas, met with the directors of the Anti-Fraud Agencies and Offices of the Autonomous Communities of Andalusia, Ricardo Puyol; Catalonia, Miguel Ángel Gimeno, and Valencia, Joan Antoni Llinares.

This meeting is a continuation of the collaboration agreement that these institutions signed with the Attorney General’s Office in June 2023 and which aims to strengthen the fight against corruption as well as promote coordination in the field of training.

As stated in the agreement, proceedings on facts examined by agencies or offices that may be related to the investigations of the Public Prosecutor’s Office may be interrupted in order to make available to the latter the information at their disposal, in addition to providing the necessary assistance.

Likewise, without prejudice to the functions attributed to the Court of Auditors and the bodies with administrative-sanctioning powers, when, as a result of its investigations, the Public Prosecutor’s Office obtains evidence of the commission of acts that could constitute an administrative offence, it will transmit them to the Anti-Fraud Agencies, and will make available to them the necessary documentation for their action. Cases in which the secret processing of the proceedings is necessary so as not to prejudice the investigation are excluded. 

The agreement establishes that if, on the occasion of its intervention in a judicial proceeding to which it is a party, the Public Prosecutor’s Office concludes that the facts incur in administrative irregularities, in addition to taking a procedural position by urging what is appropriate, it will request the judicial body to send testimony of sufficient background information to the Anti-Fraud agencies.  who will report the result of their actions to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. All this with the exception of cases in which the secret processing of the proceedings is necessary. 

 

The Anti-Fraud Agencies shall support the Public Prosecutor’s Office by means of opinions, reports or other technical actions as necessary. In addition, the Attorney General’s Office and the 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.

The Agency participates in the European WiS-H project, coordinated by the Hay Derecho Foundation to protect whistleblowers of corruption in Spain and Portugal

Press release

Madrid, April 26, 2024.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency participated in the presentation of the WiS-H project, an initiative coordinated by the Hay Derecho Foundation and co-financed by the European Commission that aims to create a safe and favorable environment for whistleblowers of corruption in Spain and Portugal.

As members of the project, institutions such as the University of Murcia, the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (NOVA School of Law) and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency accompany the Hay Derecho Foundation.

Present at this first meeting were Maïté Vanwesemael, Policy Officer of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission; the President of Hay Derecho, Segismundo Álvarez, as well as its secretary general, Elisa de la Nuez, and its general director, Safira Cantos.

Also present were Fernando Jiménez Sánchez, director of the Chair of Good Governance and Public Integrity at the University of Murcia; Júlia Miralles de Imperial Pujol, PhD post-doctoral researcher at the same university; Francisco Pereira Coutinho, PhD in Law from the Faculty of Law of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa; Julia Gracia, coordinator of the Compliance Lab at the NOVA School of Law; Nicolás Rodríguez García, Professor of Procedural Law at the University of Salamanca; and Cristina Fernández González, PhD and lecturer in the Degree in Criminology at the International University of Valencia (VIU).

On behalf of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Teresa Clemente, Deputy Director and Director of Legal Affairs, and María Isabel Quintero Soria, attached to the Deputy Directorate and Legal Affairs, attended.

Three whistleblowers of corruption participated in this first meeting to tell their experience: the prosecutor Ignacio Stampa, the engineer Gracia Ballesteros, and Iván Menéndez, who denounced in the framework of the private company.

The main objective of the WiS-H project is to work towards an enabling environment for the protection of whistleblowers of corruption in Spain and Portugal. To this end, through an analytical study, the whistleblowing environment in both countries will be analysed, and mutual learning and cooperation between competent authorities and civil society organisations will be facilitated to monitor and support the implementation of European rules on whistleblower protection.

The Hungarian Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has visited the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency

Press release

València. 25 april 2024.- The Hungarian Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, Ákos Kozma, has visited the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency to learn about its operation and establish possible ways of collaboration between the two institutions in the future.

The Commissioner also presented the Commissioner’s Office and its scope of action. He was accompanied by his Chief of Staff, Csenge Borbély.

On behalf of the Agency, Teresa Clemente, Deputy Director and Director of Legal Affairs; Gustavo Segura, Director of Analysis and Research; Irene Bravo, director of prevention, training and communication, and María José Cervera, head of the administration area.

In the last year, the Agency has intensified its international projection and numerous anti-corruption authorities have visited Valencia to learn about its work, including the Italian National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC); the National Anti-Corruption Centre of Moldova or the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Georgia.