Principles of the Channel and Guarantees

All reports will be handled in accordance with the following principles, thus guaranteeing the protection of the rights of the informant, as well as those of the affected person:

• Authority and Independence: the Managing Director of Internal Audits, who is responsible for the Channel, performs their duties independently and autonomously with respect to the rest of the bodies within the entity, having sufficient authority to avoid any type of interference in the performance of their duties.
• Anonymity: any acts, behaviours, actions or irregular facts that may constitute a breach may reported anonymously.
• Confidentiality: any information reported, regardless of whether it is done so anonymously or not, or which has been received by a means other than the Whistleblower Channel, will be treated confidentially by the Group, unless disclosure is required under national law or in the context of an investigation or judicial proceedings.
• Any report received will be treated by the Group in an impartial and objective manner

• Prohibition of reprisals: any person who in good faith reports a fact or action through the channel, employee representatives who advise or support the informant, any persons in the Group who assist them in the process, the natural persons related to the informant (co-workers or family members), as well as legal persons for whom they work or with whom they have any other type of relationship in an employment context or in which they have a significant holding, shall not be subject to any type of retaliation, nor will they suffer any other adverse consequences from filing a report.

  To ensure this principle, the Group shall take the necessary measures to protect the informant.

• Diligent response: all reports will be treated with due diligence and with respect, responding to the informant within the deadlines established in the regulations for each type of communication
• Respect for the affected person: the affected person shall have the right, among others, to the presumption of innocence and to a defence and access to the file in the event that the case has been admitted for processing following the required verifications.
• Privacy and Information Security: any reports received will be safeguarded in compliance with the measures and guarantees of data protection and information security.