May312023

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency signs a collaboration agreement with the College of Secretaries, Auditors and Treasurers (COSITAL) of Alicante

Valencia, May 30, 2023.- The president of the College of Secretaries, Auditors and Treasurers of the Local Administration of the province of Alicante (COSITAL-Alicante), Santiago Gómez; and the director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, have signed a collaboration agreement between both entities.

Among the planned collaborative actions are training activities in areas such as fraud and corruption prevention, integrity and public ethics, the protection of whistleblowers or reporting channels and anti-fraud plans.

Both institutions will also support each other in promoting a culture of good practices and rejection of fraud and corruption in the design, execution and evaluation of public policies, and in the management of public resources.

Likewise, they have committed to promote and disseminate a culture of ethics and public integrity and collaborate in the regulation and management of conflicts of interest.

If, within the framework of the COSITAL-Alicante agreement, it becomes aware of the existence of persons reporting corruption who suffer, or could suffer, reprisals as a result, COSITAL will inform the Agency so that it can grant them, where appropriate, protection.

Finally, COSITAL-Alicante will include in a visible place within its website, as well as in other media, the link to the Agency’s complaints mailbox from which any person can report any fact or irregularity constituting fraud and corruption that has been committed within the public administrations of the Valencian Community and that can provide evidence of it.

 

 

May262023

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency publishes an Integrity Manual for public officials

Valencia, May 26, 2023.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has prepared a Manual that aims to help new public officials who are coming out of the elections to be held next Sunday, May 28.

The document wants to help those people who will assume responsibilities (regional and local) so that they can carry out their work with integrity in the main areas of action.

The Manual includes in one of its chapters how the transfer of powers should be prepared during the period of constitution of the new corporations that, if contentious-electoral appeals are not raised, will take place between May 27 and June 17.

In this period in which the so-called “ordinary administration” will continue to function normally, there are also other deadlines that must be met, such as the one established in the new Law 2/2023 for the protection of people who report corruption, which is set until 13 June for public administrations to implement their internal information systems (complaint channels). The term is extended until December 1 in the case of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants.

The Agency encourages this transfer of powers to also be a transfer of information from the state of the administration, to facilitate decision-making and planning, since the proper functioning of public services that affect citizens depends on this.Another aspect that the Manual includes is the one that refers to economic issues such as the dedication, remuneration and compensation of the members of local corporations; as well as gifts, gifts or the role played by lobbies or interest groups.

The Manual includes a set of possible risks in decision-making that may be contrary to integrity and which are divided into two large groups. On the one hand we find the so-called common risks where we find revolving doors, confusion of functions, information leaks and cyberattacks, unjust enrichment, legal and technological obsolescence or over or underrepresentation.

In a second group we find specific risks in areas such as contracting, urban planning, subsidies, human resources management, the budget or those related to the management of Next Generation funds.

Finally, the Manual includes a specific section on the implementation of integrity frameworks in public management as a tool to guarantee the good administration of our public institutions.

You can access the content of the Manual at this link:

May252023

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency provides training on conflict of interest to those responsible for the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism of the Generalitat Valenciana

#TrainingAVAF

The AVAF has given a conference/workshop on managing the risk of conflict of interest at the request of the General Directorate of Government Action of the Generalitat Valenciana for the people who hold the direction of Programs for the Management of European Funds in the eleven Consellerias , as well as staff from LABORA, IVACE and Turismo Comunitat Valenciana.

The Agency’s Training Service, made up of Anselm Bodoque, head of the Service, Pilar Moreno and Marita Oliver, area technicians, energized the workshop in which conflict of interest was studied in depth, understood as the situation in which The impartial and objective exercise of the functions of the public employee has been compromised for family, affective, political or national affinity reasons, economic interest or for any other direct or indirect reason of personal interest.

Throughout the four hours of training, the risk of conflict of interest as a prelude to corruption and the existing tools to address it have been studied in depth.

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has several publications on conflicts of interest where the following stand out:

 

 

The training has had the very active participation and interest of more than 35 management managers of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism of the Generalitat Valenciana. Julia Moreno (GVA Presidency) and Olga García-Pozuelo (Department of Agriculture) will be the facilitators and promoters of the day by the Generalitat Valenciana.