Nov32020

The Valencian Antifraud Agency publishes a recommendation on the need for planning to prevent corruption in public administrations

Valencia, November 3, 2020.– The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has published a recommendation that emphasizes the importance of planning as a key tool to prevent the risks of corruption in public administrations.

Among the main risks of corruption detected is precisely the lack of planning of public policies and their management since without such planning the general interests cannot be prioritized, prevailing the culture of improvisation and of the “urgent” over the ” important”.

Likewise, the lack of planning leaves open the door to other risks such as conflict of interest, unjust enrichment or the lack of control of the activity of public institutions.

Planning is of vital importance also in crisis contexts such as the current one that we are experiencing with COVID-19 since planning offers us a strategic vision that allows us to reallocate resources in those areas of activity that, because they are considered “essential services”, must be reinforced .

This new AVAF recommendation, in addition to pointing out the value of planning as a basic tool for the prevention of corruption, provides some clues on how this planning should be carried out, pointing out the consequences caused by the lack of it and affects the need to evaluate the plans and take measures in the face of detected deviations between what is intended and what has been achieved.

Recommendation on the need for planning to prevent corruption

Editable note in ODT format

Editable note in DOC format

Oct302020

The Participation Council of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency approves a decalogue of principles to protect people who report corruption

Valencia, October 30, 2020.- A total of 14 entities and associations belonging to the Participation Council of the Valencian Antifraud Agency have approved a decalogue of principles that should govern the protection of whistleblowers and corruption alerters.

These ten principles have been elaborated by the working group on the protection of whistleblowers and were submitted to the Plenary of the Council for approval.

These principles affect some of the aspects that most affect the protection of complainants, such as the need for advice, the installation of safe and accessible complaint mailboxes, guaranteeing confidentiality or the prohibition of retaliation.

Other principles collected refer to the figure of the repentant person; the admission of anonymity in complaints or alerts, or the establishment of sanctions for retaliators.

This decalogue also refers to aspects that should be included in the work of transposition into the Spanish legal system of the European Directive 2019/1037 for the protection of people who report violations of European Union law known as the “Whistleblowers Directive”.

Thus, issues such as the delimitation of the twelve areas of protection or the need for the protection strategy to be extended to both the public and private sectors are proposed. The Council will send the decalogue to the working group of the Ministry of Justice that has begun the work of transposition of said directive.

The entities that have signed this decalogue are the following:

• COSITAL Valencia
• Observatori Ciutadà Contra la Corrupció (OCC)
• Foundation for Justice
• Tactical Whistleblowers
• Transparency International Spain
• Valencian Association of Consumers and Users (AVACU)
• Spanish Association of Obliged Subjects in the Prevention of Money Laundering (ASEBLAC)
• International Baltasar Garzón Foundation (FIBGAR)
• Warning against Corruption, Whistle Blower
• Civic Action against Corruption
• Platform for Honesty (PlxH)
• Ciutadana Castelló Platform for Justice and Against Corruption
• Union of Technicians of the Ministry of Finance (GESTHA).

Editable note in ODT format
Editable note in DOC format
Decalogue of principles to protect people who report corruption

Oct282020

The Valencian Antifraud Agency publishes the final resolution on an investigation carried out by the payment of unjustified invoices by the Sueca City Council

Valencia, October 28, 2020.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has published the final resolution on an investigation carried out by the Swedish City Council for the payment of unjustified invoices to several companies that provide services at the Sant Josep de Gent Major Residence.

The investigation began with a complaint filed with the AVAF in December 2018 against the mayor of Sueca for an “alleged crime of trespass” derived from the payment of bills to several companies that provide services in the residence of the elderly.

In total, 69 invoices would have been paid to the companies EULEN, S.A .; CLÍNICA GERIÁTRICA EL CASTILLO, S.A .; EL CASTILLO ATENCIÓN A LA DEPENDENCIA, S.A. Y NESEREM, S.L for an amount of 2,068,000 euros regardless of any contracting procedure.
The investigation began with a complaint filed with the AVAF in December 2018 against the mayor of Sueca for an “alleged crime of trespass” derived from the payment of bills to several companies that provide services in the residence of the elderly.

In total, 69 invoices would have been paid to the companies EULEN, S.A .; CLÍNICA GERIÁTRICA EL CASTILLO, S.A .; EL CASTILLO ATENCIÓN A LA DEPENDENCIA, S.A. Y NESEREM, S.L for an amount of 2,068,000 euros regardless of any contracting procedure.

All these invoices received the unfavorable report of the municipal intervention up to 26 occasions where the illegality of the facts was warned. The approval of the invoices was made by resolution of the mayor’s office or the local government board, resolving the discrepancy of the intervention and approving the list of invoices through the extrajudicial recognition of credit.

Likewise, during the investigation, the possible existence of 287 invoices that would have been settled following the same procedure was detected.

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency in its report urges the San José de Sueca Autonomous Agency for the Residence of the Elderly and the Sueca City Council to ex officio review of the acts incurred due to nullity of full right since this action could be contrary to the law. having caused a result contrary to the public interest by not being protected by law.

Editable note in ODT format
Editable note in DOC format
Resolution of conclusions. Sueca Town Hall