The director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Antoni Llinares, and the director of Legal Affairs, Teresa Clemente, have met with the president of CSIF Comunidad Valenciana, Alicia Torres; and the regional vice-president, Rafael Cantó, at the agency’s headquarters. The meeting was used to analyze and study ways of collaboration in the protection of people reporting corruption in the field of public administrations.
Salamanca and València, October 15, 2021.- The University of Salamanca and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency have signed a collaboration agreement thanks to which both institutions different actions such as those provided in the framework of the “GIR-Justice, penal system and criminology”, the “Master’s Degree in Anti-Corruption Strategies and Integrity Policy”, the “Doctorate Program in the Rule of Law and Global Governance” and the “Research Center for Global Governance” of the University of Salamanca.
The agreement has been signed electronically by the Vice-Rector for Postgraduate Studies and Own Teachings of the University of Salamanca, Nicolás Rodríguez-García, and by the Director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares and includes a broad framework of collaboration between both institutions.
One of the first actions to be carried out within this agreement will be a 4-month research stay for a student from the University of Salamanca as part of the preparation of her doctoral thesis. The operation of the Agency and its experience in the prevention and fight against corruption in the public sector, and especially in the protection of persons reporting corruption, have been the reasons for requesting said stay.
The vice-rector for Postgraduate and Own Teaching, Nicolás Rodríguez highlighted the relevance of this agreement, which highlights the need that “in the design and application of preventive and repressive actions against corruption, institutional cooperation is encouraged, in this case, between a public university and an independent and impartial entity that is entrusted, at the applied level, with the prevention and eradication of fraud and corruption and the promotion of public ethics ”.
On the other hand, the director of the AVAF, Joan Llinares, has indicated that the “Master of the USAL on prevention of corruption has an international recognition, which is why this agreement will allow the Agency to host doctoral candidates who are doing this master ”.
At the signing of the agreement, as well as the Vice Chancellor and the Director of the Agency, the University of Salamanca has been present by the professor in Criminal Law and Director of the Master in Anti-Corruption Strategies and Integrity Policy, Eduardo Fabián and the student Cristina González. The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency was attended by the Director of Legal Affairs, Teresa Clemente, and the Director of Analysis and Research, Gustavo Segura.
Alicante, September 30, 2021.- The Network of Anti-Fraud Offices and Agencies of Spain has held its 8th meeting within the framework of the VI International Transparency Congress held in Alicante between September 27 and 29.
Over the course of two sessions, the anti-fraud agencies and offices have debated and reflected on different issues related to their scope of action and especially on the situation of the transposition into the Spanish legal system of the European Directive 2019/1937 relating to the protection of people who report violations of Union law, known as the Whistleblowers Directive.
After the work carried out, an institutional declaration has been adopted that has been read in the plenary of the Congress and in which the competent authorities are urged to transpose the Directive into the legal system to develop the legal framework, noting that the deadline for completion of the works concludes on December 17 of this year.
In that same declaration, governments, administrations and other interested parties are recommended to promote a culture of denunciation; promote reporting channels; recognize the exemplarity of those who report; guarantee confidentiality; protect whistleblowers; promote and implement corrective actions; provide whistleblowers and whistleblowers with support measures, as well as deploy dissemination, training and awareness-raising actions.
The institutional declaration has been signed by the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia; National Anti-Fraud Coordination Service of the General Intervention of the State Administration; Transparency Agency of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona; Agency for the Prevention and Fight against Fraud and Corruption of the Valencian Community; Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption in the Balearic Islands and the Independent Office for the Regulation and Supervision of Procurement.
In addition to the organizations that have signed the declaration, other organizations have participated in the meeting, such as the Directorate of the Analysis Service and Ethics Mailbox of the Barcelona City Council; the Consello de Contas de Galicia; the Audience of Accounts of the Canary Islands and the Municipal Office against Fraud and Corruption of the Madrid City Council.
Representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Council for Transparency and Participation of the Community of Madrid and the National Commission for Markets and Competition were also invited to this meeting.
After reading the institutional statement, a Seminar was held on the European Directive for the protection of persons reporting corruption, in which Rosa Sánchez, Director of Analysis and Ethics Mailbox of the Barcelona City Council, participated as speakers; Jaime Far, Director of the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption of the Balearic Islands and Joan Llinares, Director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.
