Apr192023

The State Network of Anti-Fraud Offices and Agencies meets in Seville to analyze the application of the new Law 2/2023 on the protection of people reporting corruption

Seville, April 18,   202 3.- The XII Meeting of the Network of Anti-Fraud Offices and Agencies held on April 17 and 18 in the Parliament of Andalusia has aimed to analyze the common challenges posed by the application of Law 2/2023,  of February 20, on the protection of people who report on regulatory infractions and the fight against corruption,  after its entry into force on March 13.

The authorities present at the meeting have addressed different aspects of the aforementioned law ranging from the scope of application of the norm and its fit with the current regional regulations, to the sphere of rights of the complainant, through the functions of the future Independent Authority for the Protection of the Informant (AAI).

As a result of the joint analysis carried out during the two days of work, it  has been verified the need to establish coordination mechanisms to avoid that the application of the new law supposes a reduction in the level of protection of the informant in the territories where it was already guaranteed by the current regional and local regulations in the fight against corruption.

This firm commitment to promote active cooperation between all the competent institutions in the fieldwill serve to clarify issues related to the adaptation of regional regulations to the  Law, so as to guarantee a homogeneous application of the same and contribute to a greater effectiveness of the measures planned for the protection of citizens,  as well as to optimize the use of public resources.

Another aspect under discussion has been the configuration and functions of the new Independent Authority for the Protection of Informants (AAI), a state-wide body whose new creation should not limit the capacity of action of the rest of regional and local authorities.

In this sense, the Network considers it essential to join forces towards a real coordination of competences in order to ensure a coordinated and effective response at all levels of administration regardless of their field of competence.

This meeting, organized by the Andalusian Office against Fraud and Corruption (OAAF), was attended by representatives of the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia (OAC); the ValencianAntifrau Agency (AVAF); the Office of Good Practices and Anti-Corruption of Navarra; the Office for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption  in the Balearic Islands (OAIB); the Directorate of Analysis Services, the managing body of the Ethics and Good Governance Mailbox of Barcelona City Council; the Municipal Office against Fraud and Corruption of the Madrid City Council; the National Anti-Fraud Coordination Service (SNCA); the Independent Office of Regulation and  Supervision of Contracting; the National Commission of Markets and Competition and the Consello de Contas de Galicia (Observer).

Apr182023

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency participates in the Forum for Transparency in Public Procurement of the Local Administration

#TrainingAVAF

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency participated, on April 17, in the “Forum on transparency in public procurement of the Local Administration” held in Madrid, promoted and organized by the Laboratorio de la Contratación, in collaboration with the Madrid City Council.

One of the main reasons for holding this Forum was to address, from a purely practical sphere, the most relevant aspects and challenges of local public procurement, both from the perspective of Local Administration and private operators, as well as, the formulas and tools available to be able to undertake it and provide citizens with services of the highest possible quality.

In the Forum, the legislative news and the news of the risk areas in terms of local public procurement were presented, the preparation of the Check list as an essential tool for the preparation of the specifications, underfinancing and increased costs of contracting will be discussed. local government, as well as the detection and correction of fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest in the local Administration.

It was attended by speakers with extensive knowledge in the field such as contracting specialists, elected directors, general secretaries and presidents who are part of organizations such as Advisory Councils, the Administrative Court of Contracts, or the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency.

The inaugural session of the Forum was in charge of Mrs. Silvia Saavedra – Councilor for Territorial Coordination, Transparency and Citizen Participation in the Madrid City Council.

The representative of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, Mrs. Irene Bravo Rey, shared a table with Mr. Alfonso Arévalo Gutiérrez, President of the Administrative Court of Contracts of the Madrid Assembly, and Mrs. Sara Aranda Plaza, General Coordinator of Districts, Transparency and Citizen Participation in Madrid City Council, and focused his intervention on the issues that were raised, among which it is worth highlighting the list of the main risks contrary to the structure that usually arise during the life of a contract (conflict of interest, abuse of the figure of unjust enrichment, lack of planning of the contractual activity or lack of transparency) highlighting that such risks and factors may be useful for each institution to prepare its own catalogs or self-assessment of risks.

She stressed the collaboration protocols that are being signed between the AVAF and certain Valencian public institutions, to facilitate compliance with state and regional legal obligations (especially those of the new Law 2/2023 on informants and the Autonomous Law of the Community of Valenciana of Transparency and Good Governance), contributing to the implementation in each entity of separate integrity frameworks.

Her speech ended by recalling that the public service mission of any public entity is the achievement of the general interest, and must protect all kinds of public funds from any kind of irregularity, and not limit itself to protecting only funds from the EU from eminently criminal irregularities, articulating preventive frameworks as content of its own integrity plan and/or plan of anti-fraud measures. For this reason, he pointed out, the Agency approved the AVAF Guide: The Public Integrity Plan: Roadmap and Facilitating Annexes which, together with other materials, can be consulted on its website.

Apr62023

The Association of Local Administration Computer Technicians (ATIAL) and the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency collaborate in training for the deployment of internal reporting channels

#TrainingAVAF

On April 5, the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has given a training session for ATIAL staff and ICT public employees who implement the different work tools in the Local Administration.

The conference was entitled “#ATIALVirtual. Deployment of an internal reporting channel in 60 minutes”, within its monthly ATIALVirtualTIC programming, with the aim of responding to one of the obligations derived from Law 2/2023 for all public administrations, such as the implementation of internal information for the communication of infractions of the legal system before the term of implementation of June 13, 2023.

In the training activity, the technical aspects of the Agency’s Complaints Mailbox were exposed as an external channel of the independent Informant Protection Authority (art. 16 Law 2/2023) and the deployment and configuration to be used as an internal channel of a city council (Articles 5 and 7 Law 2/2023).

The Agency uses a free software platform, Globaleaks, for the management of the external reporting channel since 2018, which it offers to the different administrations, presenting the free software to implement the internal information systems for the management of reports, with all the security guarantees. and confidentiality established by Law 2/2023. And from the experience of five years of working with this software, the requirements, how to implement, configure and manage it were revealed, all with a live demonstration of a practical case.

On this occasion, the training was given by personnel from the Agency’s ICT service: Javier Alamá and Maribel Valero, head of the ICT Service and head of the IT Coordination unit, respectively.

73 people participated in the online activity, ATIAL partners and public personnel at the service of the local administration of the Valencian Community.

The attendees have shown interest in the technical part of the system, raising some specific cases and have expressed concern regarding the management procedure of the system that each administration must approve, as well as whether the Provincial Councils were going to provide service to some local entities.

The Agency thanks ATIAL for organizing this training day, as well as for the interest shown in facilitating the implementation of zero-cost reporting channels in local administrations, thus helping to create a culture of public integrity and rejection of fraud and corruption. In this case, with the implementation of the necessary tools to receive information on possible infringements, and thus meet one of the obligations derived from Law 2/2023.

If you wish to have specialized training in integrity and corruption prevention in your public administration, do not hesitate to write to training@antifraucv.es.