Mar22023

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

Algemesí, February 28,  2023.- The mayor of Algemesí, Marta Trenzano, and the director of the  Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Joan Llinares, have signed a collaboration protocol between both institutions that will help promote the Integrity Plan in which the City Council of Algemesí 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 the new Law 2/2023 regulating the protection of people who report on regulatory infractions and the fight against corruption.

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

The Aandanointing  of Algemesí will  enable as an external channel of denunciations the mailbox of complaints of the Valencia Antifraud Agency which will be visible on the municipal website;  A mailbox that guarantees the confidentiality of whistleblowers, as well as allows 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 formative nature where the staff of the municipality 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 Algemesí will contain, among others, an institutional declaration of integrity; incorporating institutional integrity into strategic planning; enabling a specific internal whistleblowing channel and connecting 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 mayor of Algemesí, Marta Trenzano was very grateful to the Agency for the accompaniment and advice in the fight against fraud and in favor of the protection and transparency of public administrations.

For his part, the director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, has declared that “this is the first agreement that the Agency signs after the publication of the new Law on the Protection of Informants and where public administrations have 3 months from the entry into force to equip themselves with these internal and external complaint mechanisms”.

“Compliance with the requirement of external complaint mailboxes in the Valencian Community can be easily resolved by having an Anti-Fraud Agency and for this it is only necessary that each administration, company or institution includes next to its internal complaints mailbox the address of the external complaints mailbox of the Agency. The Agency offers assistance and advice in the implementation of both external and internal mailboxes and the  only requirement is to sign a protocol regulating such collaboration,” added Llinares.

Declarations by the Mayoress of Algemesi

Declarations by the AVAF director 

Mar12023

The #DocufòrumAVAF returns to the Hall of Degrees of the Faculty of Law of the University of Valencia

#TrainingAVAF

The #DocufòrumAVAF learning experience, created by the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency for the debate on corruption in the classrooms of the educational centers of the Valencian Community, is one of the most requested training activities of the AVAF.

In the 2022-2023 academic year, the Faculty of Law of the University of Valencia has included the AVAF University Docufòrum activity in the Center Innovation Project (PIC).

The #DocufòrumAVAF is an activity aimed at promoting the social culture of civic ethics, public integrity, fraud prevention and rejection of corruption among students of all University degrees.

On this occasion, the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has debated these issues with students of the Double Degree in Law and Criminology, the Degree in Law and the Double Degree in Political Science and Law. Thus, on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, a new #DocufòrumAVAF was held at the Faculty of Law, of the University of Valencia.

106 students of the subject of Constitutional Law I and II of the first and second year participated in the training activity.

The activity had the collaboration of professors Vicenta Tasa and Mariano Vivancos from the Department of Constitutional Law and Political Science and Public Administration. Anselm Bodoque Arribas, head of the AVAF Training Service, was responsible for energizing the debate session with the students.

After watching the documentary “Corruption: Harmful Organism”, the students ask questions focused on the origin and causes of corruption, the social impact and collective costs it entails, the perception of corruption in our society and in other countries of our around.

Subsequently, the AVAF representative discusses with the students the issues raised in their questions and others related to the need for greater public ethics and integrity, prevention strategies and civic training or the functions of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency and public policies. of fighting corruption.

In the debate, the students showed interest in the investigation procedure and the means available to them in corruption processes, as well as the profile of the Agency’s personnel and the procedure for accessing it. He was also concerned about the strategies to fight against fraud and corruption in Spain, and in the legal framework of integrity of the Valencian Community.

The activity has been organized in collaboration with the University of Valencia, which we thank for its interest and willingness to help create a culture of public integrity and rejection of fraud and corruption.

If you are a university, secondary or baccalaureate teacher and you are interested in having the training activity #DocufòrumAVAF “Corruption: harmful organism” carried out in your subject, do not hesitate to contact the Training Service of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency through from training@antifraucv.es.

Feb282023

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency meets in Brussels with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

Valencia, 27 February 2023.- The  Director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, accompanied by the Director of Analysis and Research, Gustavo Segura, and the  Deputy Director and Legal Services, Teresa Clemente, met in Brussels with technical and management staff of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

This meeting has allowed to strengthen the  channels of collaboration between both institutions that will materialize in aspects such as the training of  their staff, the exchange of  information, as  well as the sharing of  experiences and good practices in investigative work or the protection of whistleblowers of corruption.

In recent years the Agency has carried out research actions in the Valencian Community in coordination with OLAF regarding the granting of European subsidies to different institutions and public administrations.

OLAF is the European Anti-Fraud Office created in 1999 by the European Parliament to combat fraud, corruption and other activities affecting the EU budget including irregularities within the European institutions.

The Director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, said that “this meeting has shown the  support  by OLAF for the work done by the Agency’s staff in those institutions in which it has requested collaboration”.

“In addition, the relationship between both institutions will intensify in the coming months with the exchange of experiences, training actions and agile and effective communication channels between the staff of the different areas of both institutions that will undoubtedly result in the work that is done on a day-to-day basis,” added Llinares.