Blacklist of "corrupt" companies and greater political control: Sánchez's anti-corruption plan

BarcelonaPedro Sánchez had promised a series of measures to address corruption cases, especially in the wake of the Cerdán scandal. In his appearance this Wednesday, the Spanish president announced a national plan to combat corruption that includes fifteen measures and which, in his opinion, was designed with the OECD—with whom he has agreed to produce an annual monitoring report—and has the endorsement of Sumar. However, Sánchez has not set a timeline for implementing these measures.

Public Integrity Agency

Sánchez has announced the creation of a Public Integrity Agency, which must be "independent" and should assume the functions of "prevention, supervision, and prosecution" of any corrupt practices. According to the 34-page document, released by the Spanish government, this agency should map regional agencies and functions and unify the powers of this new agency to fight corruption. This agency would have the power to investigate, oversee compliance with regulations, and protect whistleblowers.

the administration –a process that will be coordinated by the new Public Integrity Agency–, in addition to introducing artificial intelligence applications in the Public Sector Procurement Platform that would allow for "large-scale audits through the statistical analysis of open data." The objective is to also request the deployment of "integrity plans" for certain public contracts, that is, that a monitoring system be applied to them and that a third party that is independent also intervene -which could be the Public Integrity Agency itself or other entities- The administration law also

More control in the matches

An important part of Sánchez's anti-corruption plan involves more stringent oversight of political parties. Transparency in donations to parties will be reduced to 2,500 euros (currently 25,000 euros), and the deadline for publishing them will be one month from receipt. The bill, which is already being processed in Congress, includes, among other things, the creation of a registry of interest groups and the intention to add the obligation to publicize meetings with lobbyists by members of the Spanish government. In addition, sanctions for "accounting violations" will be toughened, and public subsidies will also be withdrawn from parties that maintain them.

Blacklist of "corrupt" companies

In addition to tightening control over political party accounts, the Spanish government also wants to toughen controls and sanctions on companies that engage in corrupt practices. To start with, it will require companies to have compliance anti-corruption measures, especially those seeking contracts with public authorities. Furthermore, companies that have been "convicted of corruption, fraud, bribery, or money laundering" will be placed on a blacklist that will prohibit them from continuing to hold contracts with the government. According to the plan's details, the Spanish government proposes reforming the Penal Code to "automate" the prohibition of a company convicted of bribery, influence peddling, or embezzlement receiving public subsidies and aid, or obtaining tax or social security incentives.

The Spanish government also pledges to "toughen" penalties for crimes against public administration and double the statute of limitations, in addition to "increasing fines for corrupt companies." In this regard, it proposes calculating these sanctions not based on profits obtained but on annual revenue. They also propose changes to the Penal Code to toughen these penalties: from criminalizing "obstruction" of justice to linking access to prison benefits to repaying amounts obtained through corrupt practices.

Judicial reforms and the concept of "administrative confiscation"

Sánchez's plan includes changes in the judicial sphere. He proposes creating "specialized sections" for crimes against public administration within the courts of first instance, with specialized judges, in addition to giving "preferential status" to cases involving public officials. The Spanish government also wants to "strengthen" the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and provide it with more resources. In this regard, it reiterates its commitment to passing the criminal procedure law to reform the criminal investigation model and place jurisdiction in the hands of the Public Prosecutor's Office. This reform has drawn criticism from the right.

In this legislation, the Spanish government also wants to include protection for corruption whistleblowers, that is, anyone who reports "acts of corruption" to the prosecutor's office, the police, or a judge. These individuals must have "full guarantees of confidentiality, protection, and legal support." Likewise, companies will also be required to incorporate internal reporting channels, and public administrations must also place them "within a general system of institutional integrity."

The Spanish government plans to provide more resources to the Office of Asset Recovery and Management to locate illicitly obtained assets. The plan also includes creating the concept of "administrative or preventive confiscation." The goal is to allow "confiscation of assets linked to criminal activities without the need for a prior criminal conviction." This would prevent those responsible from hiding or disposing of stolen money before justice is served.

The culture of "integrity"

In addition to the battery of measures to control and sanction corrupt practices, Pedro Sánchez also believes it is important to "generate a culture of integrity" throughout the country. He has announced that he will conduct "annual demographic studies" on the perception and direct experience of corruption in Spain, as well as "citizen awareness" campaigns, and will strengthen "training for public employees in integrity and prevention."