Mar252026

The AVAF promotes a reflection on integrity and conflict of interest in the field of research at the Universitat Politècnica de València

The AVAF promotes a reflection on integrity and conflict of interest in the field of research at the Universitat Politècnica de València

 

Valencia, 25 March 2026.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency (AVAF) and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) have held the training conference “Conflict of interest in academic and research environments” at the Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII). The activity brought together nearly 80 attendees, including research staff, project managers and university administration staff.

 

Belén Picó, Vice-Rector for Research at the UPV, presented the conference and, subsequently, the Agency’s Training technicians, Mayte López and Pilar Moreno, analysed risk situations that often go unnoticed in academia:

  1. Malpractice in publication and authorship: One of the points of greatest interest for the teaching and research staff has been the analysis of scientific integrity. The problems posed by fraud in authorship and practices such as salami slicing or fragmentation of publications to inflate CVs have been detailed.
  2. Management of Spin-offs and transfer: The particularities of knowledge-based companies (CBE) have been addressed, clarifying the exceptions allowed by the Science (LCTI) and Universities (LOSU) laws with respect to the general regime of incompatibilities.
  3. Control tools in European funds: The mandatory use of DACI (declaration of absence of conflict of interest) and the MINERVA data mining tool has been delved into, explaining how the cross-referencing of tax and notarial data allows detecting “red flags” or hidden corporate links before the award of contracts.
  4. Evolution of the legal framework: The shift from a model based on the “good faith” of the civil servant (Law 40/2015) to one of active surveillance and automated detection reinforced by the laws of 2022 and 2023 has been analysed.
  5.  

The session concluded with a practical workshop where attendees presented real experiences and resolved doubts about the management of personal, relational, institutional and economic interests common in the different dimensions of university and research management.

 

The collaboration between the AVAF and the UPV reaffirms the commitment of both institutions to public integrity and transparency.

 

If you would like to have specialized training, you can contact us through formacion@antifraucv.es

 

Mar182026

Whistleblower protection authorities meet in compliance with Law 2/2023

Barcelona, 18 March 2026.- The Agency for the Prevention and Fight against Fraud and Corruption of the Valencian Community (AVAF) has participated in the coordination session of the independent whistleblower protection authorities established by Law 2/2023, of 20 February, regulating the protection of people who report regulatory breaches.

 

In addition to the AVAF, the meeting was attended by the state-owned Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers, the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia, the Office of Good Practices and Anti-Corruption of the Autonomous Community of Navarre, the Andalusian Office against Fraud and Corruption, the Galician Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers, the Independent Authority on Corruption of Castilla y León,  the Council of Transparency and Good Governance of Castilla-La Mancha and the Council of Transparency and Data Protection of the Community of Madrid.

 

During the meeting, the authorities discussed the status of the processing of the draft of the Organic Law on Public Integrity and the need to establish common criteria for the consistent application of Law 2/2023. Among other issues, the competence model of the different independent authorities, the ways of exercising the sanctioning power, the protection of whistleblowers and the procedures for notifying the people responsible for the internal information systems were discussed.

 

The competent authorities in the field of whistleblower protection have held their biannual cooperation meeting at the headquarters of the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia, in a hybrid format: face-to-face and telematic. This meeting marks the beginning of a stable calendar of periodic meetings that will take place on a rotating basis in different autonomous communities.

 

Article 42.3 of Law 2/2023 establishes that “the presidency of the Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers, A.A.I. shall convene, on its own initiative or when requested by another authority, the regional authorities for the protection of whistleblowers to contribute to the consistent application of the regulations on the protection of whistleblowers. In any case, semi-annual cooperation meetings will be held”.

 

The article adds that “the presidency of the Independent Authority for the Protection of Whistleblowers, A.A.I. and the regional authorities for the protection of whistleblowers may request and facilitate the mutual exchange of information necessary for the fulfilment of their functions. Likewise, they may constitute working groups to deal with specific matters of common interest and establish common guidelines for action”.

Mar112026

Health procurement in the Valencian Community enhances integrity with an AVAF training day #FormaciónAVAF

Valencia, 11 March 2026.- The Consortium of the General University Hospital of Valencia, the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency and the Ministry of Health have joined forces to strengthen public health procurement from a perspective of integrity, prevention of conflicts of interest and continuous improvement of public management.

 

In this edition, the training day has expanded its scope and has been aimed at all public procurement professionals in public hospitals in the Valencian Community.

 

Nearly 100 professionals participated in a conference designed to delve into the main risks of public procurement in the healthcare environment.

 

The session was presented by Santa Pedro García, deputy director general of contracting of the General Directorate of Economic Management, Contracting and Infrastructures of the Ministry of Health and Eduardo Piqueras Sanchiz, economic and financial director of the Consortium of the General University Hospital of Valencia.

 

Mayte López, training technician in the Training, Participation, Communication and Relations with other entities area, presented the institutional integrity system of the Valencian Community and the role of the AVAF in its consolidation.

 

For her part, Pilar Moreno, training technician at the Agency, focused her first intervention on the risks to integrity in public procurement, illustrating them with real cases derived from complaints received by the Agency since 2017.

 

The importance of mandatory internal information systems in accordance with Law 2/2023 and the figure of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency as an external channel for complaints was also present in the training by Moreno García.

 

The day concluded with a participatory workshop on the proper management of conflicts of interest in public procurement, facilitated by the AVAF training team, which allowed attendees to apply the knowledge acquired to real situations in the hospital environment.

 

The Training Area of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has been especially grateful for the collaboration of the Ministry of Health and the commitment of the Consortium of the General University Hospital of Valencia to promote training initiatives that contribute to strengthening the integrity and quality of health management throughout the Valencian Community.

 

Interested in specialized training in public integrity and risk prevention in management? Contact us at: formación@antifraucv.es

 

*Photographs provided by the Consortium of the General University Hospital of Valencia.