Nov32023

The AVAF participates in the International Congress of land use to make a city of the UV

#AVAFPrevention

Valencia.- November 3, 2023

The abuse of urban planning as a source of local financing in terms of public integrity was the communication presented by Irene Bravo Rey, head of the Prevention Service and Jorge Ciganda Teruel, technician of the Prevention Service of the AVAF, International Congress on land uses to make a city of the University of Valencia.

In addition to the attendees representing the AVAF, professors, university professors, specialized technicians and students interested in the subject participated in the Congress, held at the Faculty of Law, on November 2 and 3, 2023.

On Friday, November 3, at 1:00 p.m., the presentation of the communication presented by the staff of the AVAF Prevention Service took place, selected by the organizing committee, which was followed by 70 people both in person and online.

The aforementioned communication details that a local public administration or instrumental public sector entity that, with powers or participation in the city creation process, looks the other way and postpones compliance with obligations related to public integrity frameworks will be opening the doors to practices in their public housing policies or economic activities based on private interests. Consequently, it would be directly colliding with the constitutional principles of good administration: objectivity, impartiality, effectiveness, efficiency, legality, among others.

Some of these subjective, partial practices or those derived from undetected or uncontrolled conflicts of interest lead, for example, to “a la carte” tertiary use locations following the interests of private companies. And, in the same way, they result in the creation of ghettos that do not respond to sustainable planning criteria, or land reserves for certain industrial estates or projects. Which, together with the controversial figure of expropriation by operation of law, has put the public accounts of many Valencian municipalities in check.

“The abuse of urban planning as a source of local financing. In terms of public integrity” will be the subject of development in the next General Recommendation of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.

Nov32023

The Agency participates in the EPAC/EACN General Assembly in Dublin with the participation of more than 100 anti-corruption institutions from 30 countries

Dublin, 3 November 2023 –  The 22nd Annual Conference and General Assembly of the European Anti-Corruption Partners (EPAC) and the European Anti-Corruption Contact Point Network (EACN) took place in Dublin on 2 and 3 December. Among the highlights of the conference was the adoption of the Dublin Declaration and the election of Linas Pernavas, Director of the Lithuanian Special Investigation Service (STT), as the new Chair of the EPAC/EACN Board, while the other members of the Board were re-elected for a second term.

The EPAC/EACN conference, held for the first time in Ireland, was organised by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, the Police Authority, the Garda Inspectorate and the Irish Department of Justice and was attended by more than 200 representatives from more than 100 institutions from 30 different countries and jurisdictions.

Members of the European Commission, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL), the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and national anti-corruption institutions shared their knowledge and experience in different areas of anti-corruption.

This year’s Conference focused on four main themes: whistleblowing, gender-based violence committed by state actors, safeguarding the EU’s financial interests, and how to address new challenges arising in corruption investigations.

The conference also included the presentation of the EPAC/EACN award for the most innovative anti-corruption initiative, which was awarded this year to the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Office for its ‘ABC Integrity’ project.

 

At the general assembly, the following members of the EPAC/EACN Board of Directors were elected for a period of 2 years, consisting of:

Chairman: Linas PERNAVAS, Director of the Special Investigation Service (STT), Lithuania

Vice-President (Anti-Corruption Area): Ernst SCHMID, Head of Department, Federal Anti-Corruption Office (BAK), Austria

Deputy Vice-President (Anti-Corruption Area): Traian Mihăiţă BÂRLICI, Head of the Prevention Directorate, Directorate-General Anti-Corruption (DGA), Romania

Vice-President (Police Supervision Area): Lucile ROLLAND, Deputy Head of the General Inspectorate of the French National Police (IGPN), France

Deputy Vice-President (Police Oversight): Hugh HUME, Commissioner of the Garda Ombudsman Irish Síochána (GSOC), Ireland

In addition, the General Assembly adopted the Dublin Declaration as the outcome document of the conference. This Statement will be widely disseminated by EPAC/EACN members in their respective countries and submitted to the relevant EU institutions and bodies, the Council of Europe’s GRECO, the OECD’s WGB and the UNODC.

The General Assembly also approved five new members as part of the two networks, bringing to 109 the total number of police oversight and anti-corruption bodies from 38 European countries that are members of EPAC and/or EACN. The new members are the Georgia Anti-Corruption Bureau; the Georgian Special Investigation Service; the Hungarian Integrity Authority; the Andalusian Anti-Fraud Office of Spain and the Asset Management and Recovery Agency of Ukraine

Click here to access the Dublin Declaration.

Nov22023

The Valencian Association of Local Administration Personnel Technicians (AVTPAL) and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency sign a collaboration agreement

València, November 2, 2023.-  The president of the Valencian Association of Local Administration Personnel Technicians (AVTPAL), Trinidad Martínez, and the director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares, have signed a collaboration agreement between both institutions to implement different actions.

One of the highlights of the agreement is that AVTPAL establishes the Agency’s complaints mailbox as its external whistleblowing channel, for which it will put it in a visible place on its website and in other media and channels.

Likewise, AVTPAL will launch its internal whistleblowing channel and will appoint the person responsible for the Internal Information System, communicating this appointment within 10 days so that it can be included in the Registry of Internal Managers.

The obligation to designate a person responsible for the Internal System and its communication to the Agency is set out in Law 2/2023 on the protection of whistleblowers of corruption and the deadline expired on 13 June, except for those municipalities with fewer than 10,000 habitats, whose deadline ends on 1 December. At the moment, the majority of administrations have either not designated the person responsible for the system or have not notified the Agency.

Another of the points included in the agreement is that training actions will be carried out aimed at people who work in the human resources and people management departments of the local administrations of the Valencian Community, which will help to promote ethics and public integrity in our administrations.

In the area of prevention, the Agency will assist AVTPAL in the implementation of an integrity plan, the preparation of risk catalogues and advice on the preparation of codes of ethics.