The Provincial Court of Valencia decided to maintain the provisional release without bail of the former minister and former president of the Generalitat Valenciana Eduardo Zaplana, sentenced to ten years and five months in prison for the crimes of prevarication, corruption, lying and money laundering, as part of the ITV conspiracy of Erial affair.
The Fourth Section thus rejects the request of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office which requested the immediate imprisonment of the former leader of the PP before the sentence – which will be the subject of an appeal in cassation before the Supreme Court – becomes final.
Contrary to the vision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the magistrates consider that the risk of leakage “It is non-existent” because Zaplana has not carried out until now “any action aimed at evading the action of Justice”. Of course, the Court maintains the precautionary measures of withdrawal of the passport, ban on leaving the national territory and appearance on the first Monday of each month before the court.
In an order notified to the parties this Monday, the magistrates support their resolution according to which the detainee “enjoys family, social and even medical roots on the national territory”, roots “which make it difficult to think that he will abandon “this same national territory to avoid serving the sentences that have been imposed.
In addition, the court recalls that its assets abroad and also in Spain “have already been seized by means of confiscations and royal precautionary measures adopted in this case” and are therefore “at the disposal of Spanish justice”, this which “also reduces their economic capacities when planning an exit from the national territory, which there is no evidence he attempted.
In this sense, the court emphasizes that Zaplana has so far shown “no gesture or sign” which suggests that he intends to evade the action of Justice and not accept the execution of sentences once declared definitive.
Thus, since the investigating court in this case pronounced his provisional release, on February 7, 2019, with precautionary measures similar to those currently maintained, “he punctually respects” the obligation to appear weekly before the court of his home. .
This was also present at all trial sessions oral and “did not fail in any judicial appeal”, specifies the Fourth Section, “even when his line of defense could have been compromised, when some of the accused recognized their responsibility in the events with which they were accused”.
During the visit organized last Friday to assess the prosecutor’s request, the former minister defended that he did not intend to leave Spain due to his illness – he suffers from leukemia – and its roots family. “I don’t want to run away”he said. His lawyer demanded that the presumption of innocence be respected, because the judgment is not final and its review could lead to lesser sanctions. Likewise, he claimed that he had no possibility of hiding evidence or repeating crimes because he no longer holds public office.
On the other hand, the prosecutor insisted on the fact that it was proven that Zaplana “has access to financial products and assets abroad which he did not make available to the Spanish authorities”, which would allow him to flee and continue his medical treatment in another part of the world. In this sense, he recalled the case of the former general director of the Valencian Export Institute (IVEX), José María Tabares, who fled to Japan, a country with which Spain does not have an extradition agreement.
On provisional release since 2019
He also rejected the medical report -prepared by the court’s forensic experts in 2019- brought by the spokesperson for the government of José María Aznar to oppose this precautionary measure. that the defense presented today to oppose this precautionary measure. “Fortunately, Zaplana attended the trial, we understand that his health problem does not pose any risk and that he has developed a completely normal life,” said the prosecutor.
The former leader of the Valencian PP was arrested in May 2018 and was in temporary prison until February 2019, after spending two months at La Fe Hospital in Valencia to be treated for leukemia.
The magistrates of the Provincial Court consider it proven that, being president of the Generalitat in 1997, rigged public tender for ITV channels to obtain 6.4 million euros in bribes. A fortune that was diverted to Luxembourg to hide it – using his entourage – and then return it to Spain, through a complex corporate structure.
According to the same resolution, made public in mid-October, Eduardo Zaplana established a network of companies in Panama with bank accounts in Andorra to receive more money – 9.8 million – of illicit origin. “It is not a one-off act, but a behavior which continued over time, for many years”, during his political career and after leaving it in 2008.
For all this, the court also imposed 17 years and 10 months of disqualification from employment and public office, three more from the exercise of his profession and fines totaling more than 25 million euros. Although he was acquitted of the crime of criminal grouping, the judgment decreed the confiscation of various assets and sums seized during the investigation of the case. The judgment also convicted five defendants and acquitted eight others.
