The Valencian Antifraud Agency offers to prepare the expert report to which 5 experts refused in the alleged corruption case of Enrique Ortíz in Alcoi

València, May 19, 2020.- Last Sunday the head of the Court of First Instance number 2 of Alcoi decreed the provisional dismissal of the proceedings in the case of the extra costs of the works in the Calderón Theater of Alcoi by which it is investigated to the businessman Enrique Ortiz.

The reason for the dismissal is that on up to 5 occasions an attempt had been made to appoint an expert to issue an expert report on the cost overruns of the works, which are estimated at 1.2 million euros and on the five occasions they had refused to carry it out. of said report adducing various causes.

Upon learning of this situation, the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency (AVAF) contacted the investigating judge to offer the Agency’s services for the study and issuance of the corresponding expert report.

According to Law 11/2016, of November 28, by which the Agency is created, this entity can collaborate with judicial bodies and prepare reports of all kinds, including expert reports.

The head of the court has positively valued the offer of the AVAF to prepare the expert report, which will allow the case to be reopened and the investigations to continue.

Documents


Press note in PDF
Editable press note in DOC format
Editable press note in ODT format

Fecha de publicación: 

20 people who complain about corruption receive protection from the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency

Valencia, May 15, 2020.– This is one of the data provided during the meeting held electronically by the working group on the protection of complainants of the Citizen Participation Council of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.

It is the first time that this group has met since the Council for Citizen Participation was established in October 2019. In that same constitutive session, it was decided to create two working groups: one dedicated to the protection of complainants and a second group focused on the field of prevention and public ethics.

Among the items on the agenda, the situation of the complainants who receive protection from the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has been analyzed, referring to the data collected in the Activity Report for 2019, which was published last month of March.

According to the data provided, during the year 2019 the request for protection of 5 new complainants was approved, who join 15 others in force from previous years and who maintain their situation until the investigations are completed, the vast majority of them being processed before the judicial authorities.

As a general rule, these whistleblowers who report or warn of facts and behaviors that may constitute fraud or corruption receive reprisals as a result of the complaint, in the form of pressure, threats, workplace harassment, demotion or even dismissal. The Valencian Antifraud Agency provides them with legal advice and ensures that these acts of intimidation, direct or indirect, do not occur.

Another issue discussed during the meeting was the need to transpose Directive 2019/1937 of the European Union on the protection of those who report violations of European Union law. This directive came into force in December 2019 and Spain has two years to transpose it into its legal system.

The importance of this directive resides in the fact that with this regulation protection and legal advice will be given for the first time in our country, among other issues, to those persons who report crimes of fraud, corruption, tax evasion or damage to the environment.

Among the members of the working group is the Spanish Association of Obliged Subjects in the Prevention of Money Laundering (ASEBLANC); Transparency International Spain; Union of Technicians of the Ministry of Finance (GESTHA); Association of Alerters against Corruption (AcC); Foundation for Justice and the International Baltasar Garzón Foundation (FIBGAR).

Background

The Council of Citizen Participation was created by Resolution of February 12, 2019 and is regulated in Title IV of the Regulation of operation and internal regime of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency of June 27, 2019.


Links to the 2019 Activity Report and the Press Release

Annual report 2019 in PDF
Press note in PDF
Editable press note

For more information you can reach gabinete@antifraucv.es or phone 962 787 450

Fecha de publicación: 

The Sindicatura de Comptes and the Agència de Prevenció i Lluita contra el Frau i la Corrupció sign a collaboration protocol to improve the achievement of their common goals

Valencia, April 27 2020.– The Catalan Ombudsman, Vicent Cucarella, and the director of the Valencian Antifrau Agency, Joan Antoni Llinares, have signed a functional collaboration protocol to improve compliance with the objectives of common interest of both institutions. Thus, within the regulatory framework of application, they may act jointly in those cases in which, through mutual collaboration, they can increase the incidence of their respective activities in the prevention of fraud and corruption.

In this sense, it must be said that the two institutions exercise different but complementary functions that can be coordinated for this purpose. The Comptes Sindicatura is a statutory institution that exercises the supervisory function of the financial activity of the Valencian public sector, while the Valencian Antifrau Agency is entrusted with the functions of prevention and fight against fraud and corruption, through investigation and other actions other than inspection. However, this delimitation of competence is not an obstacle for each of the institutions to contribute to the better fulfillment of the functions attributed to the other.

Procedure of action

As for the action procedure that is established, a coordination committee has been created that will meet during the third four-month period of each year, in order to submit to the two institutions a joint proposal of certain actions to be carried out during the financial year. Next to improve fraud and corruption prevention.

By means of this protocol, the Comptes Syndicate may send to the Antifrau Agency the complaints it receives in which possible legal breaches are revealed, in order for it to carry out the appropriate investigations, all without prejudice to the audit function. of the Receivership and of the reports that, as a result of it, must be sent to the Court of Auditors and its Office of the Prosecutor. In addition, if the supervisory body is aware of the existence of people who denounce or report facts or behaviors that may constitute fraud or corruption and suffer reprisals as a result, it will notify the Agència Valenciana Antifrau of this circumstance so that this grants them, where appropriate, the protection that by law corresponds to them.

Satisfaction on both sides

The representatives of both institutions have been satisfied with this new path that they are undertaking together. As the Síndic Major de Comptes, Vicent Cucarella, has indicated, “this protocol shows an adequate collaboration between both institutions, already provided for in the respective laws and regulations, which benefits the public sector and the public.” For his part, the director of the Antifrau Agency, Joan Antoni Llinares, has pointed out in this regard: “The risks of corruption increase in times of crisis. Collaboration between institutions and control bodies is more essential than ever for the optimal management of situations as extraordinary as the ones we are experiencing. The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic can also be an opportunity to make a qualitative leap in integrity and good governance policies.”

In addition to the fraud and corruption prevention functions, this collaboration protocol will also serve to share knowledge and experiences in this area, to promote institutional integrity and transparency, as well as to share work methodologies. In this sense, the text also contemplates that training activities, internal and external, or any others that allow achieving objectives of common interest can be carried out jointly.

Official Press Release.

27.04.2020