Institutional Relations

Oct72020

The Notary Public and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency will cooperate in the fight against corruption

By virtue of a collaboration agreement, the autonomous institution will access the notarial bases of real ownership and people with public responsibility

Madrid and Valencia, October 7. This morning, Joan Antoni Llinares, director of the Agency for the Prevention and Fight against Fraud and Corruption of the Valencian Community (AVAF); and José Ángel Martínez Sanchiz, president of the General Council of Notaries (CGN) have telematically signed a collaboration agreement between both institutions. The dean of the Notarial College of Valencia was also present at the signing ceremony of this agreement
In order to reinforce the fight against fraud and corruption, the agreement allows AVAF to access the databases of beneficial owners and persons with public responsibility of the CGN. Telematic access to these files will be carried out with the highest security standards and in accordance with the Data Protection regulations. Notarial information will allow the AVAF verification systems and inspection actions to be more effective.
The AVAF, an independent autonomous entity, aims to prevent and eradicate fraud in Valencian public institutions by promoting integrity and ethics and fostering a culture of good practices and rejection of corruption. The specific functions of the Agency include: investigating cases of irregular use of public funds; warn of conduct by public personnel that involves the abuse of information for private benefit; investigate and initiate procedures constituting infringement or prevent conflicts of interest.
This agreement is territorially complemented with another similar one signed by the CGN with the Generalitat Valenciana last May, which provided the General Inspection of Services of the Department of Justice, Interior and Public Administration with access to the notarial bases for the investigation of irregularities committed by people or companies related to the public sector.

Notarial databases
The CGN created in 2005 the Centralized Body for the Prevention of Money Laundering (OCP). Its technicians carry out their work analyzing data from the Single Computerized Notary Index, which contains information from the deeds authorized before the almost 3,000 Spanish notaries. In turn, two other files are derived from this Index: the Real Owner Database (BDTR) and the Database of People with Public Responsibility (BDRP).
The BDTR, in operation since 2012, is unique in the world and allows public authorities to find out who are the people behind a commercial company. On this basis, the beneficial owners of 2,094,000 limited companies, 126,000 public limited companies and 210,000 non-commercial legal entities, such as associations, foundations or political parties, are identified in an accredited manner. Since its creation, judges, police authorities and subjects required by law (financial entities, auditors, insurance companies …) have requested more than 3,500,000 information from the OCP on the beneficial owners. In addition, 51 agreements have been signed with obliged subjects in the fight against money laundering (from banks to real estate companies) that request information from this database in order to fulfill their duty to know who is the beneficial owner of a company.
The OCP has also created the BDRP, in which 39,437 natural persons are identified: 22,467 persons with public responsibility by choice or by appointment; 16,970 close people; 2,088 for being beneficial owners of a company in which a person with public responsibility also participates and 14,882 with close business relationships with a person with public responsibility.

	Editable note in ODT format
	Editable note in DOC format

Oct52020

The Department of Transparency and Open Government and the Valencian Antifraud Agency begin to work on the Integrity Plan of the new transparency regulation of the Valencia City Council

València, October 3, 2020.- The Councilor for Transparency and Open Government of the Valencia City Council, Elisa Valía, and the Director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares, have met this week to begin with the preparation of the Integrity Plan of the Local Administration, a fundamental element of the new Transparency Regulation in which the Valencia City Council is working.

The Councilor for Transparency, Elisa Valía, stressed that to respond to all the challenges posed by this regulation “we have to further intensify inter-institutional collaboration with organizations, entities and other administrations that work to consolidate good governance policies.” “It is important that those of us who work to dignify policies in public administrations always do so in coordination.”

For his part, Joan Llinares has stated that “one of the outstanding functions of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, in addition to the investigation of fraud and corruption crimes, are those of prevention and training since we consider that it is essential to work from all spheres of society for the creation of public ethics and integrity. From the AVAF we offer advice and information to all those public administrations that want to work in this line ”.

	Editable note in ODT format
	Editable note in DOC format

Sep242020

Man and local police, the profile of the person protected by the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency

València, September 24, 2020.– In its fight against fraud and corruption, the AVAF has a fundamental tool, the Statute for the Protection of persons who report corruption, a statute that has been granted to a total of 21 people.

The objective of this Statute is to avoid harassment, threats and intimidation, in short, reprisals, which on many occasions people who complain of corruption suffer both in the professional, family and personal spheres as a result of exposing irregular actions.

Since the Agency was put into operation 3 years ago, a total of 35 people have requested to benefit from the Protection Statute, of which 21 applications have been estimated, some of them rejected due to lack of requirements and another 11 are in the processing phase.

If we analyze the profile of the person protected by the AVAF we would be talking mostly of men since they are 67% of the people protected compared to 33% who are women.

Regarding the employment situation of these people, 71% are career civil servants and the majority belong to the local police group.

It is precisely against local public administrations where the largest number of complaints filed with the AVAF are concentrated. In 2019, the number of complaints against these administrations accounted for 61% of the total complaints filed.

In most cases, the protected persons had filed complaints against local administrations in the province of Alicante, mainly on matters related to public procurement and personnel management.

By monopolizing the local police group, the largest number of complaints are focused on issues such as remuneration and inappropriate overtime pay, performance of functions with misuse of power or irregularities in the selective processes both for access to public function and to the promotion.

The moment in which the person requests the protection of the AVAF is not as might be thought when the investigations are being carried out by the AVAF, but once the facts have been transferred to judicial instances, the existence of irregularities that may constitute crime. 95% of the requests for protection are made when the facts are in the investigation phase in courts and tribunals, with open criminal proceedings, which is why the complainants suffer the persecution of those who are being investigated or their environment, they are the retaliators.

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency is currently the only authority in Spain that offers protection to people who report fraud and corruption within public administrations.

The transposition into the Spanish legal system of the European Directive 2019/2017 known as the “Whistleblowers Directive” on the protection of people who report violations of European Union law is pending.

This directive came into force in December 2019 and its importance lies in the fact that thanks to it, protection and legal advice will be offered for the first time in our country to those people who report, among other crimes, fraud, corruption, tax evasion or damage to the environment. environment.