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Reporting irregularities - OFNS

Our platform for reporting any irregularities

A specific Guideline for the receipt, analysis and processing of reports of alleged violations is in force at Open Fiber.

Open Fiber has implemented a platform that allows employees, contractors, providers and any other counterparty of the Company to report (including for the purposes of whistleblowing legislation) any violation or suspected violation, including behaviours and practices that may cause economic damage or harm to Open Fiber, referring to the Code of Ethics, the adopted Model 231/01, or to any company procedure or provision.

What can be reported

The scope of the reports of alleged violations that can be submitted through the reporting system adopted by Open Fiber includes the areas envisaged by Legislative Decree No. 24 of 10 March 2023, and also extends to all those behaviours, acts or omissions that harm the public interest or the integrity of OF and its subsidiaries, which may consist of:

  • unlawful conduct under Legislative Decree No. 231/2001, or violations of the control measures set out in OF’s O.M.C. model, including the principles contained in the Code of Ethics;
  • violations of the provisions of the law, acts and regulations of the European Union and/or national law to which the Company is subject, with particular reference to violations of regulations on privacy, anti-corruption, health, safety at work and the environment, and any violation involving administrative accounting, civil or criminal offences;
  • violation of company regulations and/or the Internal Control System, e.g., controls relating to accounting, the reliability of financial reporting in general and in other areas: fraud, stalking, mobbing, assets, security, etc.

 

Contact us if you become aware of incidents that violate applicable laws, the Code of Ethics, national and European Union regulatory provisions that harm the public interest or the integrity of the public administration or Open Fiber of which the reporting parties have become aware in a work context.

In particular, the focus of such reports is unlawful and significant conduct pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001, or violations of 231 organisational models, offences falling within the scope of European Union or national acts in the following areas:

  • Public procurement
  • Financial services, products and markets and the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing
  • Product safety and compliance
  • Transport safety
  • Environmental protection
  • Radiation protection and nuclear safety
  • Food and feed safety and animal health and welfare
  • Public health
  • Consumer protection
  • Privacy and personal data protection
  • Network and information system security

Three reporting channels can be used: the internal channel, the external channel and public disclosure.

  • Internal company channel: Open Fiber uses the “EQS Integrity Line” platform, which allows employees, contractors, suppliers and any other counterparty of the Company to report any violation or suspected violation, including behaviour and practices that may cause economic damage or harm to Open Fiber, referring to the Code of Ethics, the adopted O.M.C., or to any company procedure or provision. The platform is managed by a third party independent of Open Fiber, guaranteeing the security of the processed data in order to protect the reporting and reported parties
  • External channel through the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), an independent administrative authority with an institutional mission to prevent corruption in all areas of administrative activity
  • Public disclosure through the press, electronic media or media that can reach a large number of people

This is without prejudice to the possibility of making complaints to the judicial or accounting authorities, in cases within their jurisdiction.

The external whistleblowing channel may only be used if an internal whistleblowing channel does not exist or is inadequate, or if the internal whistleblowing channel is unsuccessful, or if the reporting party has reasonable grounds to believe that an internal report would not be effectively followed up or could lead to a risk of retaliation. Finally, the external whistleblowing channel may be used if the reporting party has reasonable grounds to believe that the violation may constitute an imminent or clear danger to the public interest.

External reports are made in writing via the IT platform or orally via telephone lines or voice messaging systems or, at the request of the reporting party, by means of a face-to-face meeting arranged within a reasonable period of time.

The main external reporting channel is the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC). An external report submitted to a party other than the ANAC is transmitted to the latter, within seven days from the date of its receipt, with simultaneous notification of the transmission to the reporting person.

Public disclosure may be made if the reporting party has previously made an internal and external report or has made an external report directly and no timely response has been received regarding the measures envisaged or taken to follow up the report, or when the reporting party has reasonable grounds to believe that the breach may constitute an imminent or clear danger to the public interest.

In addition, a report may be made for public disclosure where the external report may entail a risk of retaliation or may not be effectively followed up due to the specific circumstances of the case, such as where evidence may be concealed or destroyed or where there is a well-founded fear that the recipient of the report may be colluding with the infringer or involved in the infringement.

It must concern conduct, acts or omissions of which the reporting party or whistleblower has become aware in the work context.

Reports should be as circumstantial as possible in order to enable the parties responsible for receiving and handling reports to assess the facts. In particular, the following essential elements of the report must be clear, including for the purposes of the admissibility check:

  • The identifying data of the reporting person (name, surname, place and date of birth), as well as an address to which subsequent updates should be sent
  • The circumstances of the time and place in which the facts that are the subject of the report occurred and, therefore, a description of the facts that are the subject of the report, specifying the details of the circumstantial information and, where present, also the manner in which the facts that are the subject of the report came to light
  • Personal details or other elements that enable the identification of the person to whom the reported facts can be attributed.

All reports are sent via EQS’s secure server to the Open Fiber contact persons. They will decide how to proceed and will contact you via the EQS Integrity Line if they have any questions or if additional information is needed. If necessary, your anonymity will be protected. In the case of well-founded reports of suspicious activity, experts may be involved and an investigation may be opened. You will be informed as soon as the investigation of the reported incident is completed. The investigation can take several months, especially in complex cases. For privacy reasons, it is generally not possible to disclose the result of the investigation.

It is important that at the time you enter the report, you have good reason to believe the information to be true and that you are not sending the message with fraudulent intent. In such a case, you could be held criminally liable for slander or defamation committed in bad faith. You are also expected to provide all useful and necessary information for the content of the report to clarify the act (circumstances of the place and time, as well as for the identification of those responsible for the act).

To guarantee your anonymity, the data is encrypted and transmitted via a secure, independent EQS server. When submitting a report or query via the EQS Integrity Line you will remain anonymous, unless you decide to disclose your identity.

 

At the end of the registration process, you will receive a referral number and be able to choose a password. Use this access data to log in to your personal Inbox by clicking on “Retrieve a report” and then follow the instructions. The Inbox allows you to enter into direct dialogue with the Open Fiber Case Manager, protecting your anonymity. The ability to have a dialogue is very important, as further information may be needed to fully resolve the case.

Open Fiber handles the report in light of the subjective and objective application scope of Legislative Decree No. 24 of 10 March 2003. In order to be able to initiate the procedure, the reporting manager checks that the reporting party is entitled to make the report and that the subject of the report falls within the scope of the rules.

If the report concerns a matter outside the scope of application, it may be treated as ordinary.

 

Reporting channels

The reporting party has access to the following channels:

  • in-house: Open Fiber uses the “EQS Integrity Line” platform. The platform is managed by a third party independent of Open Fiber, guaranteeing the security of the processed data in order to protect the reporting and reported parties.

It is possible to leave voice messages through the platform, which will be handled in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Enter your report here

Reports can also be sent in paper form, in a sealed envelope, to the following address:

Open Fiber S.p.A. c.a. Direzione Audit
Via Luisa Battistotti Sassi 11, 20133 Milano

Indicating on the envelope: “Confidential/personal”

In particular, with regard to:

  • violations or suspected violations of the 231/01 Model, reports may also be sent in paper form, in a sealed envelope, to the following address:

Organismo di Vigilanza di Open Fiber S.p.A.
c/o Direzione Audit

  • whistleblowing reports (reports based on well-founded grounds detrimental to the public interest or the integrity of the organisation concerning unlawful conduct of which the reporting party has become aware in the course of their work), it is recommended that the reporting party place the report in two sealed envelopes, the first one including the reporting party’s identification data, together with an identity document, and the second one including the subject of the report. Both envelopes must then be placed in a third envelope marked “riservata al gestore del segnalante” on the outside.

Any reports received by short routes (in person, by telephone) will be recorded in the EQS system by the Audit Department and handled in accordance with the Guideline.

  • external:  through the ANAC, which is the body responsible for organising and managing an external channel for reporting violations that can only be used if a series of specific conditions laid down in Article 6 of the Decree are met:  (i) the internal channel is not considered to be mandatory; (ii) the internal report has not been followed up; (iii) the reporting party has reasonable grounds to believe that the internal report would not be effectively followed up; (iv) the reporting party has reasonable grounds to believe that the violation may constitute an imminent or obvious danger to the public interest.
  • public disclosure through the press, electronic media or media that can reach a large number of people;
  • report to the judicial or accounting authorities.

As a matter of priority, reporting parties are encouraged to use the internal channel and, only if the conditions explicitly stated in the FAQs are met, may they make an external report or public disclosure.

Click here to view Open Fiber’s privacy policy.