PP and Vox seal their assault on the Valencian Antifraude Agency and reduce their collaboration with Anticorruption

The new internal regulations for the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency were published in the official regional gazette on October 19, 2026. This date coincided with the devastation caused by Storm Adam along the southern coast of Valencia and northern Alicante, which resulted in four deaths and extensive material damage in the region. The rules, approved by the ruling Popular Party and Vox, significantly alter the agency’s operational framework. Key changes include the elimination of citizen participation bodies, reduced explicit provisions for cooperation with anti-corruption prosecutors, and diminished transparency requirements compared to the previous regulation established in June 2019. The governing coalition stated that the reform responds to recent legislative amendments from 2024 and 2025. It also aims to align the agency with Spain’s 2023 law protecting whistleblowers and incorporates lessons learned since the prior rulebook took effect. One major structural change is the disappearance of the Participation Council. Under the old rules, this advisory body included civic organizations and experts who proposed recommendations, evaluated agency activities, and promoted public debate on fraud prevention. The new text removes this mechanism entirely. Cooperation with justice has also been scaled back. The 2019 regulation explicitly allowed the agency to provide technical assistance and issue forensic reports for judicial matters within its competence. The updated document merely states that the directorate will forward actions to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, courts, or the Court of Audit when appropriate. Specific clauses regarding technical aid and expert testimony have been omitted. Furthermore, the new rules delete the entire section dedicated to accountability before the regional parliament and citizens. While duties such as producing annual reports and processing public information requests remain, they are no longer framed under a specific title emphasizing transparency and parliamentary appearances. Procedural protections for whistleblowers have been detailed in Articles 14 and 15. These sections outline how protection requests are processed, including preliminary checks and decision-making procedures. They also regulate the opening of separate sanctioning files if evidence emerges of retaliation against a whistleblower. Both files must be coordinated while preserving guarantees for those investigated. Opposition parties Socialists and Compromis condemned the changes as a serious step backward in the fight against corruption. Jose Diaz, the socialist spokesperson for Economy in the regional assembly, argued that it is difficult to take an anti-fraud agency seriously when it uses opportunities to strengthen anti-corruption efforts instead to remove control mechanisms. He noted that the Popular Party and Vox initiated the path through their legal reforms, and the agency leadership has followed suit. Critics argue that the removal of collaboration protocols with justice, citizen participation, and transparency provisions undermines the institution’s integrity. The publication occurred amidst the crisis response to Storm Adam, highlighting the timing of these administrative shifts during a period of regional emergency.