The Anti-Frau Office has sent this Thursday to the Parliament its response to the complaint presented to this body about the alleged irregularities in the hiring of personnel and in the granting of age licenses to its officials, which allowed them to retire early at 60 years of age by earning the full salary on account of the budgets of the Chamber.
In the note, which has twelve pages, the most significant cases of the investigation appear, all of them related to matters related to the hiring and benefits of the institution’s employees. Specifically, ten cases of irregularities are reported that concern, in addition to the controversial age licenses, the provision of a position of auditor in 2015, and the expansion of ad hoc places in the public competition for lawyers or ushers. .
In addition, it includes the analysis of the conflict of interest that affected the previous Secretary General of the Parliament, Esther Andreu, who had to resign when it was revealed that her son had been hired as an interim usher without her having notified of the relationship and had inhibited herself in the selection process.
Likewise, cases of relevant positions whose functions remain “pending to be defined” and the creation of “instrumental positions” are collected and, on the other hand, deficiencies and obstacles are pointed out in the exercise of the rights of access to public information, which are mandatory. compliance in an institution like the Parliament.
The document has been sent to the president of the Chamber, Anna Erra, who has a period of thirty days to inform the Anti-Frau Office, headed by Judge Miguel Ángel Gimeno, of the measures adopted or, if applicable, of the reasons that prevent him from acting in accordance with the recommendations made to him.
In the case of licenses based on age, it is reported that, although they had been eliminated in January 2022, when this modification was already underway, thirteen more were processed and granted, many of them deferred for one year to try to ensure that were not affected by the deletion.
Retirement bonuses or subsidies and the employment bonus are also addressed, a chapter that indicates the benefits that personnel enjoy despite the built-in limitations, such as, for example, that after 16 years of service in the Parlament obtains the right to receive a full year of gross salary corresponding to the last annuity. These bonuses, the report points out, are not provided for in the basic Statute of public employees.
In the case of the position of auditor, it was filled by assigning duties to an interim official and was not put out to public competition, which is why Antifrau recalls that the appointment in question should have been automatically voided after six months.
The report also covers legal positions, a body for which the number of vacancies indicated in 2006 was expanded so that in 2008 there were two and not one. This procedure, Antifrau indicates, raises “reasonable doubts about the due legal coverage of the extension, to the point that they point to a case of nullity by operation of law that affects the provision of one of the two places.”
Regarding the usher positions, Antifrau states that thanks to the expansion, a person was hired in 2019 who has subsequently occupied positions of greater responsibility without meeting the requirement of a minimum of two years of seniority. Currently, and thanks to an extraordinary call, this person occupies a position of head of unit, which represents “possible favorable treatment.”
Finally, the report points out the obstacles to the exercise of the right of access to public information, which it states are “systematic” and have caused the delay in the delivery of the documentation requested for claims regarding the resolutions made in the first instance. or by the challenges to which some members of the Body of Guarantee of the Right of Access to Public Information of the Parliament of Catalonia have been subjected, an issue that will be raised to the Ombudsman of Greuges so that it considers this information in its reports on transparency.
The Parliament has responded to the Antifrau report in a statement in which it indicates that “the Board authorized this investigation last May and the Chamber has provided all the documentation that has been requested.” In addition, she points out that Erra has commissioned the current secretary general, Albert Capelleras, recently appointed by her, another report on the content and scope of this Antifrau resolution, in order to “respond to their requests”, all of them referring to stages prior to that of Erra itself.
“The two reports will be addressed at an upcoming meeting of the Board. While the report of the Anti-Frau Office is being analyzed, the Parliament will not evaluate the content. The president and the Board reaffirm their commitment to continue working for an institution and administration of maximum quality, efficiency and transparency,” the statement concludes.
