The Agency for the Prevention and Fight against Fraud and Corruption of the Valencian Community was created by Law 11/2016, of November 28, of the Generalitat Valenciana. Let’s do some memory.
The agency was designed by the political party we can in those 15 years, of which I am a qualified witness, since as president of the TRANSPARENCY ASSOCIATION (extinct as of today) and of ASEBLAC (currently I am national spokesperson and regional president) we maintained various meetings both with Antonio Montiel, party leader, and with Fabiola Meco, promoter and alma mater of the design and creation of the anti-fraud agency.
In those days, corruption ravaged our community and our country and it was more than necessary to create a specialized agency to combat it. Since the crime of “corruption” begins in the administrative way and its early detection is essential to avoid its commission, since, once the fact is known, we have already arrived late, very late. Of course without ruling out the necessary investigations before or after the fact, as well as the use of complaint channels. Well, it was not done that way. Primo political ideology and that intellectual supremacy of the public that on some occasions officials and politicians wield with some frequency. Something similar to “what do you know”. In fact, no one who is not an official can work or collaborate in the agency. Big mistake. Do you remember what I told you before? Ideology, before effectiveness and efficiency. Podemos has always had a very bad way of promoting public-private cooperation. Just as important in other areas.
We also warned that the law, in terms of crime prevention measures, was scarce, rather null. Any prevention law entails obligations to the obligated subjects who must comply with it. As an example, I cite laws that you will know, such as: the data protection law, the law for the prevention of occupational risks or the law for the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism. In all of them, certain processes have to be carried out to comply with the law, if not, they are financially sanctioned and disqualified. In short, this law is just a law creating the agency and its functions, nothing more. Prevention is only in name. By the way, it only has jurisdiction in the public sphere and not the private one.
Everything I’m telling you was known to the creators in 2015 and its director Joan Llinares since the first meeting we held in 2017 when he was newly appointed. In October 2019, the Participation Council was established, an advisory, supervisory and consultation body of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency. The director of the agency thus wanted, with excellent judgment, to bring the agency closer to the public through this council and so that the experts could help with our opinions. And during the more than 3 years that I have been part of the agency as a participation advisor, I have transmitted, without success, each and every one of our proposals in terms of prevention. I stopped belonging to it voluntarily when, by term, my position was automatically renewed for 3 more years.
The Valencian anti-fraud agency cannot just be a large mailbox for complaints and dedicate itself to protecting the one who denounces. Let no one misunderstand me, my reproach is that it only does that, with the limitless potential and scope that the agency could have, not that it does it. there would be more! There is also a Law about it! Law 2/2023, of February 20, on the protection of whistleblowers.
Before clearly answering the title of this piece, let me make a section to tell you about Joan Llinares. I don’t know anyone as upright and honest as him. He has put in more hours and consistent efforts than he was required to. His magnificent predisposition, perseverance, tenacity, ability to overcome adversity and active listening are commendable. But the law of the agency is what it is. The rules of the game are what they are and that is how he has played and trained. With the one he had and with the ones he had (my congratulations to every member of the agency. Keep it up). Nothing to object. Rather my congratulations. His term ends in a year and he could have retired six years ago. Thank you very much for dedicating these years (and the one that you have left) as the great public servant that you are. Thank you so much!
We have the opportunity to strengthen the law and the agency, to change it. To provide it with a larger budget, to expand its scope of action, to encourage public-private collaboration, so that the citizen knows and knows, that there is an organization that prevents, detects, investigates and brings to justice any natural or legal person who commits a crime called corruption. To provide it with more means to promote and disseminate by schools, institutes, universities, private companies or institutions. Beyond the guides or voluntary ethical codes, which, although they must be carried out, have little real effectiveness if they are not obligatory in their compliance. We need an agency that is aware of the acts of our public and political function and that reproaches any of these that stray from good governance and democratic quality. An agency that proposes legislative changes, behavior, improvement. In short, proactive at all levels.
The new De Mazón y Barrera government has a golden opportunity to launch a closed and seamless message in the fight against political and public corruption and to promote good governance and democratic quality, not only not repealing the law of the agency, but improving it, in order to leave behind, once and for all, the shadow of corruption that always looms over the Valencian Community. They would have to give many explanations, including to Europe, if they propose the closure of the agency without further ado. In addition to the national and international reputational damage that its closure would mean. I do not recommend it. I’m already seeing the headlines: “The popular party turns its back on fighting corruption” “The popular party closes antifrau for no reason, right?” “Europe files the Valencian Community for the decision of the PP to repeal the law of the anti-fraud agency”, “leader of the popular party justifies the closure of the anti-fraud agency because there is no corruption in the CV” etc.
It is also time for the popular party to speak without fear of corruption. Word that seems forbidden in your vocabulary. Let us hope that the tradition is broken, that we can speak openly and that we manage to mitigate it in our institutions, until it is fully eradicated. Long live Antifrau!
