Reporting irregularities

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 Network Solutions 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 andterrorist 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 Network Solutions 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 Network Solutions, 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 Network Solutions, 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 ITIT Acronym for ‘Information Technology’, the technology used in the management and processing of information. This refers to the use of any computer, storage and networking system and other physical devices, infrastructure and processes to create, process, store, protect and exchange electronic data in any format. 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 Network Solutions 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 Network Solutions 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 Network Solutions 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.