Mar242023

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency together with 33 European integrity and protection authorities are constituted in Rome in the NEIWA Network

Rome, 24 March 2023.- The European Network of Integrity and Protection Authorities for Whistleblowers of Corruption has been  officially constituted this Friday in Rome as NEIWA Network.

This Network began operating in 2018 informally as a platform for cooperation and exchange of knowledge and experiences in the field of integrity and protection of whistleblowers. The approval of the European Directive 1937/2019 served as the basis for the constitution of this Network among those European agencies and authorities that were assigned these competences.

Currently, a total of 34 authorities belonging  to Member States of the European Union make up the Network, among which is the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, as well as authorities from candidate countries to join the European Union and EFTA (European Free Trade Association).

In the course of the  8th General Assembly of NEIWA that is being held on March 23 and 24  in Rome, the Network has approved its formal constitution as  well as the  adoption of a regulation  and to give structure to  the organization and regulate the  operation of the Network.

Laura Valli, representative of Italy’s National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC),  has also been elected as president of NEIWA and it has been agreed that the next meeting of the General Assembly will be held in Valencia.

Within the agenda of the General Assembly, the  Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has been  invited to make a presentation on how its complaints mailbox works and what is its experience in the management of this channel that has received more than 1,000 complaints in the 5 years it has been in operation.

The director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, and the head of the Agency’s information systems,  Javier Alamá, have been in charge of  making the complaints mailbox known to the rest of the  European authorities.

After the presentation, the Director of the Agency stated that “the fact that 33 European authorities for the fight against corruption and the protection of whistleblowers have shown interest in knowing how the AVAF complaints box works reinforces the work we are doing”.

“The Agency’s complaints mailbox is becoming a benchmark and so in November we were also presenting this mailbox invited by the group of experts of the European Commission. This mailbox is the one we are helping to implement in Valencian public institutions with which we have already signed collaboration agreements. The Provincial Council of Valencia, Provincial Council of Castellón, entities such as VAERSA or ISTEC,  and with municipalities such as those of Valencia, L’Eliana, Riba-roja, San Vicente del Raspeig, Dénia or La Yesa that have already incorporated as their external channel of complaints the mailbox of the Agency “.

The NEIWA Network currently consists of the following members:

                         

Belgium         Federal Ombudsman

Flemish Ombudsman

German speaking community Ombudsman

Ombudsman of the Brussels-Capital Region

Bulgaria         Commission for Anti-Corruption and Illegal Assets Forfeiture

Croatia           Ombudswoman

Czech Republic Ministry of Justice, Conflict of Interests and Anti-Corruption Department

Denmark        Data Protection Authority

Estonia          Ministry of Justice, Criminal Policy Department

Finland           Ministry of Justice

France            Défenseur des Droits

Germany     Federal Office of Justice of Germany

Greece           National Transparency Authority

Hungary         Commissioner for Fundamental Rights

Iceland       Prime Minister‘s Office

Ireland          Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

                      GSOC Protected Disclosure Unit (PDU)

Italy                National Anticorruption Authority (ANAC)

Latvia             State Chancellery, Contact Point of Whistleblowers

                       Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau

Lithuania       General Prosecutor’s Office

Montenegro   Agency for Prevention of Corruption

Netherlands The Dutch Whistleblower Authority

Portugal         Prosecutor’s General Office 

Romania        Ministry of Justice

Slovakia         Prime Minister’s Office (Corruption Prevention Department)         

                        Whistleblower Protection Office

Slovenia         Commission for the Prevention of Corruption

Spain              Ministry of Justice

Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency (AVAF)

Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia (OAC)

Prevention and Fight against Corruption Office of the Balearic Islands

Andalusian Office against Fraud and Corruption

Sweden          Swedish Work Environment Authority

Mar242023

#DocuforumAVAF begins its journey in Vocational Training at the IES Joan Fuster in Sueca

#TrainingAVAF

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency visits Sueca, the capital of the Ribera Baja, with the #DocuforumAVAF activity at the IES Joan Fuster.

The students of the first year of the higher cycle of Administration and Finance with the collaboration of Professor Aurora Agud have been able to learn about the objectives and functions of the AVAF, created by “Les Corts” in response to the UN mandate through the Convention of United Nations against Corruption of 2003, ratified by Spain in 2006.

The viewing of the documentary “Corruption: Harmful Organism” on Pandora Box TV, in a first session, allows them to see first-hand testimonies from informants of corruption in the public sector and the reprisals to which they were subjected.

On Thursday, March 23, the AVAF training technician, Pilar Moreno, visited the IES Joan Fuster to share the #DocuforumAVAF learning experience with the students and resolve the doubts and questions of those present.

The existing control mechanisms in the public administration, as well as the economic effects of corruption in society, together with the creation of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency have been some of the questions formulated by the students participating in the training activity.

The Valencian Antifraud Agency through #DocuforumAVAF has the opportunity to show in the classrooms of schools, institutes and universities throughout the Valencian Community the work of promoting integrity and public ethics, as well as the protection of informants of corruption and the AVAF complaints mailbox.

If you are a university, high school or 4th ESO teacher in the Valencian Community and you are interested in having the training activity “Docuforum: Corruption, harmful organism” carried out in your classroom, do not hesitate to contact the training service of the Valencian Antifraud Agency through training@antifraucv.es

Mar232023

During the month of March, four #DocuforumAVAF have been carried out with third-year Law students from the University of Valencia

#TrainingAVAF

The #DocuforumAVAF 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.

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).

On this occasion, the Valencian Antifraud Agency has discussed these issues with students of the third year of the Law Degree. Thus, on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, two new #DocuforumAVAF were held at the Faculty of Law, of the University of Valencia.

75 students from two groups of the subject of Financial and Tax Law participated in the training activity. The activity had the collaboration of Professor Jorge J. Milla Ibáñez from the Department of Financial Law and History of Law. Anselm Bodoque, head of the AVAF Training Service, was responsible for stimulating the debate sessions 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 different control bodies, and the perception of corruption in our society and in other countries around us.

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, the functions of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency and public policies on fight against corruption, focusing part of the conference on the legal framework of integrity that the Valencian Community has built in recent years that allows the improvement of the democratic quality of the institutions.

Given the questions raised by the students about the protection of complainants, the Agency’s work in this regard was explained to them, and they took the opportunity to inform them of the obligations of the recently approved Law 2/2023, regulating the protection of people who report violations of regulations and the fight against corruption, which reinforce the Autonomous Law 11/2016 creating the Agency.

In the debate, the students showed interest in the guarantees of confidentiality, the investigation procedure, as well as the profile of the Agency’s staff.

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.

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.