On Thursday, the Court of Auditors approved a tough report on the management of the controversial International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP). It is a state institution presided over by the First Vice-President of the Government, Nadia Calviño, and which has been the subject of controversy in recent months due to the contracts awarded to the so-called Tito Berni plot.

According to a statement from the Court of Auditors, this state public sector foundation - which is dedicated to international cooperation in the field of administration and public policies - has "breaches of contract regulations, certain deficiencies in compliance with personnel regulations and some breaches in terms of transparency and equality".

It points out that it has audited the 2020 and 2021 financial years and in them "FIAPP formalised a total of 349 contracts worth 83 million euros, in addition to another 455 minor contracts for an amount of 4 million". "Among the breaches of Law 9/2017 on Sector Contracts noted in various contracts are the lack of guarantee that the contract had been awarded to the offer with the best value for money, the non-requirement of a definitive economic guarantee, the lack of accreditation of financial and technical solvency of the successful bidders, the non-justification of the receipt of the service or supply and in the case of minor contracts, improper subdivisions."

This State audit body assures that it has had to analyze what was happening, "due, fundamentally, to the delays registered in the submission of its annual accounts." It is surprising that in a foundation chaired by the head of the government's economic apparatus, "the delay with respect to the legal deadlines was 528 days in 2020 and 338 in 2021. The report states that the main reason for the delays was the disorderly and deficient process of changing the accounting application since 2018."

Calviño has been president of FIIAP since 2021 and the main executive is the director, Anna Terrón, since 2018.

In addition, "in terms of personnel, the Court has found that FIIAPP exceeded the limits established for the hiring of temporary staff in 2021". She also gives a figure that contrasts with Calviño's usual discourse on gender equality: "The audit concludes that the gender pay gap is 47%. This gap is influenced by the staff positions appointed by other public administrations to carry out projects. These positions, which are in the upper pay segments, are mostly held by men."

The Court of Auditors, however, approves the accounts, but concludes by urging the Government to "improve the management and internal control systems and procedures" because "deficiencies have been observed in the planning and programming systems and in the measurement of the results obtained in their compliance and in the management of the projects they execute".

The report coincides with the fact that Judge María de los Ángeles Lorenzo-Cáceres, who is investigating the 'Mediator case', is investigating four FIIAP contracts to the plot of the former socialist deputy Juan Bernardo Fuentes Curbelo, better known as Tito Berni, for projects in the Sahel.

Calviño said last spring that he had ordered an internal investigation into FIIAP and dissociated his institution from this scheme.

The Court of Auditors "concludes that FIIAPP did not carry out control actions in the area of contracting and the technical and economic management of projects during the audited period, precisely the area in which, according to the results obtained in the Court's audit, it was most necessary to apply review and internal control procedures".

For these reasons, the Court of Auditors recommends that FIIAPP "intensify controls on compliance with contractual regulations, as well as develop internal project management regulations", "improve theprocesses of the accounting information system" and "strengthen its internal control system".

  • Articles Carlos Segovia
  • Nadia Calviño
  • Court of Auditors