Eduardo Zaplana arrested
Former Benidorm mayor and minister accused of corruption
EDUARDO Zaplana – former Valencia region president, exminister for the national government and ex-mayor of Benidorm for the Partido Popular (PP) – was arrested on Tuesday.
He is accused of bribery, money laundering, misuse of public funds and abuse of power in relation to public contracts while he was regional president (from 1995-2002), for which a group of businessmen may have paid around €10 million.
Sr Zaplana has been immediately suspended by the PP. He has also been suspended from his current position as advisor to Spanish communications multinational Telefónica.
Under investigation are the region’s contracts for the ITV (MOT) motor vehicle inspections and wind power plan.
Officers have searched the regional department for the economy and Sr Zaplana’s homes in Valencia and Benidorm, as well as his offices in Madrid.
Also arrested were businessmen Vicente and José Cotino, the nephews of Juan Cotino, ex-director of the National Police, ex-regional vice-president and ex-president of the regional parliament with the PP. Juan Cotino is also due to be called for questioning as a suspect, along with Sr Zaplana’s wife and personal secretary.
Other suspects detained include ex-director of the Benidorm tourist development centre (CDT) and ex-director of institutional relations at the municipality’s Terra Mítica theme park, Joaquín Barceló Llorena and his wife. Further arrests have not been ruled out.
According to state news agency EFE, the Guardia Civil operation was launched after part of the money in question was allegedly repatriated from tax havens.
The connection of this money with alleged offences committed when Sr Zaplana was in office could enable the statute of limitations to be lifted. He was arrested at dawn at his house in Valencia, from where officers took several boxes of material and two recently registered luxury cars.
Sr Zaplana’s lawyers have asked for him to be released on the grounds that he has leukaemia which was diagnosed in 2015; he later had a bone marrow transplant and is currently undergoing treatment at Valencia's La Fe Hospital.
The public prosecutor has opposed this as he was exam- ined by a doctor who found no reason he could not be held in custody.
Sr Zaplana pioneered the regional government’s policies of instigating grand events, which were initially popular but ended up costing the public purse dearly.
These included the construction of Terra Mítica, which cost €400 million but entered suspension of payments in 2004 before eventually being sold to Aqualandia for only €65 million, and the Ciudad de la Luz film studios in Alicante which also ended up costing about €400 million, but the EU ruled were unfair competition, since when they have not been used.
He also significantly expanded his predecessor’s City of Arts and Sciences project in Valencia, eventually costing over €1.2 billion, not counting the numerous repairs that have been required since.
Current regional president Ximo Puig of the Socialist party (PSOE) announced the regional government will pursue its own prosecution in the case against Sr Zaplana, ‘ because the money that may have been stolen has to be recovered’.