The Fourth Section of the Valencia Court has scheduled the trial of former Generalitat President and former PP Minister Eduardo Zaplana for next January 9th. There will be 40 sessions spanning about five months at which the former people’s leader will be charged with money laundering, bribery, forgery of a trade document and administrative fraud, for which the anti-corruption prosecutor is calling for a prison sentence. 19 years in prison.
He won’t be the only former Valencia president sitting on the bench. This also applies to José Luis Olivas, for whom prosecutors are asking for six years in prison for his involvement in the so-called Erial case, which investigated the alleged collection of commissions after the “rigged” award of the wind power plan and inspections plans vehicle technology (ITV) . Along with the two former presidents, an alleged Zaplana figurehead, Miguel Barceló, will sit on the bench; the alleged financial mastermind of the conspiracy, Francisco Grau, the secretary of former Minister of Labor Mitsouko Henriquez, his former chief of staff Juan Francisco García and business brothers Vicente and José Cotino Escrivá, family of former director general of the policeman Juan Cotino.
Despite repeated attempts by Zaplana’s defense to evade trial, the head of Valencia’s investigative court No. 8 decided last October to open a hearing and the court has set the trial to begin this Friday.
According to the prosecutor’s indictment, the documents underlying the investigation contained a summary of the “procedures carried out” for the ITV concessions and the wind farms privatized by Zaplana. From these documents, according to Anti-Corruption, “the amount that the bidders had to pay to obtain these concessions or awards based on the agreement with the defendant, who held the supreme political and executive power of the Valencian Community, which would confer them” pertinent Indications for the due decision agreed to by his friend Juan Francisco García”. According to the ministry, the bids for these awards were designed to set “subjective conditions” so that the Cotino companies (family of the former Director General of Police) won the bids “because they had the necessary information on the conditions and requirements”. This favors his concession, to the detriment of the rest of his potential competitors, by limiting competition as much as possible and ultimately creating the conditions in the highest political bodies for this to be possible.”
Prosecutors also report that the organization “utilized foreign-based companies (…) that were set up both to obtain bribes for predetermined awards and to disguise the illegal origin of the assets.” Panama, Andorra and Luxembourg were the first destinations for this money, and for the return of this capital to Spain “the creation of a corporate structure” was devised, through which the acquisition of goods was made, in whose documents Zaplana never appeared, despite its existence himself who uses them has. Not only did the former minister avoid appearing in documents, but the conspiracy referred to him as “the boss,” “our friend,” or “the one you already know” in phone conversations and knowing they could be bugged. as told by the prosecutor.
What affects most is what happens closer. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything.
subscribe to