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

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

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.

The Spanish Society for the Evaluation of Public Policies joins the Participation Council of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency

València, 28 November 2023.- The Participation Council of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has met in ordinary session and the Spanish Society for the Evaluation of Public Policies (SEE) has participated for the first time, joining as a member of the Agency’s participation body.

The SEE is an entity that aims to contribute to the development in Spain of a culture of public policy evaluation as a fundamental instrument for improving the effectiveness and social utility of the activity of public administrations.

To this end, the SEE promotes scientific research among the agents involved in the university sphere, the civil service, the business and professional spheres and the public authorities.

The SEE joins the Consell de Participació (Participation Council), a consultative body of the Agency that includes civic and social organizations, as well as individuals who stand out for their fight against fraud and corruption and for the promotion of ethics and public integrity.

In 2023, the Spanish Society for the Evaluation of Public Policies, the World Compliance Association and the Hay Derecho Foundation have joined the Consell de Participació.

The Consell de Participació is made up of the following organizations: Civic Action Against Corruption; Whistleblower; Valencian Association of Consumers and Users (AVACU); Hay Derecho Foundation; FIBGAR Foundation; Foundation for Justice; Observatori Ciutadà contra la Corrupción (OCC); Open Society Initiative for Europe (OSIFE); Plataforma Ciutadana Castelló per la Justicia i contra la Corrupción (Citizen Platform Castelló for Justice and Against Corruption); Trade Union of Technicians of the Ministry of Finance (GESTHA); Tactical Whistleblowers; Transparency International Spain and World Compliance Association.