Only 134 public administrations have submitted to the Registry of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency the Heads of their Internal Information System

Press release

València, 15 December  2023.- One of the obligations imposed by the entry into force of Law 2/2023, of 20 February, regulating the protection of people who report regulatory and anti-corruption infringements is for administrations and public bodies to have an internal information system.

The purpose of this internal system is to ensure that possible conduct or irregularities that may be followed up can be reported within the organisations themselves.

The internal information system is made up of three elements: an internal channel (mailbox) where information or complaints can be collected; a procedure that regulates how the information or complaints received will be handled, and finally, the designation of the person who will be responsible for the management and processing of the complaints and information.

Those responsible for internal information systems can be both a natural person and a collegiate body that will be appointed by the governing body or body of the administration, which will have a period of 10 working days from the appointment to communicate it to the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, which is the body designated in the Valencian Community to manage the Register of Heads of Internal Information Systems.

The Law established a deadline of June 13 for public administrations and agencies to notify the Agency of the persons responsible for their Internal Information Systems. In the case of municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants, the deadline ended on 1 December. To date, only 134 bodies have complied with this procedure of notifying the Agency of those responsible for internal information systems, a procedure that can be carried out through the Agency’s electronic office.

Among the town councils with more than 10,000 inhabitants, 31 town councils of the 102 required have completed the procedure; while among those with less than 10,000 inhabitants, only 50 of the 440 have reported it to those responsible for the internal information system.

According to the Law, failure to comply with the obligation to have an Internal Information System can constitute a very serious, serious or minor infringement depending on the circumstances and can be sanctioned with fines ranging from 1,000 euros to 1 million euros.

With the aim of helping public administrations in complying with the requirements set out in Law 2/2023, not only with regard to compliance with the implementation of internal information systems, but also with the requirement to have external complaint mailboxes or the design of anti-fraud plans, the Agency has signed 88 collaboration protocols with city councils,  Provincial Councils and Public Enterprises.

In the event that an administration or public entity is interested in signing this type of protocol with the Agency, it can request it through the following email: jurídico@antifraucv.es

Attached is the list of the municipalities that have made the communication of the internal information manager.

Representatives of OLAF, UCO, the judiciary and journalists take part in the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Corruption

Press release

València, November 30, 2023.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has organized an International Anti-Corruption Day to commemorate the celebration of the International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9.

The central theme of the Conference was the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which was adopted on 9 December 2003.

The conference was inaugurated by the Regional Secretary of Public Function of the Generalitat Valenciana, Emilia Selva; Pablo González, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, which hosted the celebration, and finally, the director of the Agency, Joan Llinares.

The conference consisted of 4 round tables and an inaugural lecture by the Professor of Political Science and Administration at the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid and member of the Agency’s Ethics Committee, Manuel Villoria, who reviewed the content of the text of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

The first of the round tables focused on the day-to-day work carried out in the fight against corruption in different agencies. At this table, the head of the operations selection and investigations unit of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Eduardo Cano; the Lieutenant Colonel Head of the Department of Economic Investigations and Anti-Corruption, Antonio Balas; and the director of the Andalusian Office against Fraud and Corruption (OAAF), Ricardo Puyol. The panel was moderated by the head of the Analysis and Research Unit of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, María José Moragues.

The second of the tables focused on the role of justice in the fight against corruption, with the participation of the Senior Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Valencian Community, Teresa Gisbert; the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organized Crime, Alejandro Luzón and the magistrate Joaquim Bosch. Teresa Clemente, Deputy Director and Legal Affairs of the Agency, was in charge of moderating this table.

A further 2 round tables were held in the afternoon session. The first of these focused on the role played by citizens in the fight against corruption and was attended by the director of the Hay Derecho Foundation, Safira Cantos; the vice-president of the Ciutadà Observatory against Corruption and vice-president of the Agency’s Participation Council, Rafa Mauri and the president of the Foundation for Justice, José María Tomás y Tío, an entity that is also part of the Agency’s Participation Council. This panel was moderated by Amparo Martí, head of the Agency’s support and expertise unit and secretary of the Ethics Committee.

The last of the panels was dedicated to the role of the media in the fight against corruption. This panel was moderated by the journalist Clara Castelló and included the participation of Juan Nieto of the newspaper El Español; Laura Ballester of the newspaper Levante-EMV; Alberto Rallo from Las Provincias and Rosana Crespo from Valencia Plaza.

The City Council of Manises and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency sign a protocol to launch the complaint mailboxes and the Integrity Plan

Press release

València, 29 November 2023.-  The mayor of Manises, Javier Mansilla, and the director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, have signed a collaboration protocol between the two institutions that will help promote the Integrity Plan on which the Manises City Council is working.

Within the general lines of the Integrity Plan, the implementation of both internal and external complaint mailboxes is contemplated, thus complying with the requirement of Law 2/2023 regulating the protection of people who report regulatory and anti-corruption infractions.

With this Law, published in the Official State Gazette on 21 February, European Directive 1937/2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of EU law, better known as the Whistleblowers Directive, is transposed into Spanish law.

The City Council of Manises will enable as an external channel for complaints the complaint mailbox of the Valencia Anti-Fraud Agency, which will be visible on the municipal website; A mailbox that guarantees the confidentiality of whistleblowers, as well as allowing the possibility of being able to make complaints anonymously.

The collaboration between both institutions will also extend to other actions and activities such as those of a training nature where the staff of the city council will receive training in aspects related to the promotion of ethics and public integrity, as well as the prevention and detection of situations constituting fraud and corruption.

The Integrity Plan of the City Council of Manises will contain, among others, an institutional declaration of integrity; embedding institutional integrity in strategic planning; the establishment of a dedicated internal whistleblowing channel and the connection to the Agency’s external whistleblowing channel; the regulation and management of conflicts of interest; the training of City Council staff in matters of integrity or the promotion and dissemination of the culture of ethics and public integrity.