Ex-minister Eduardo Zaplana embroiled in an illegal commissions case requests a little leeway over bail conditions

EDUARDO ZAPLANA, former government minister has asked to be excused from reporting each Monday to a Valencia court.

Zaplana, who headed Valencia region’s government from 1995 until 2002 and was mayor of Benidorm between 1991 and 1994, allegedly received €10.5 million in illegal commissions during his time as Generalitat president.

In 2018 he was remanded for nine months in Picassent prison (Valencia) although he spent some of this time in La Fe hospital, also in Valencia, where he was treated for leukaemia.

Zaplana’s lawyer Daniel Campos pointed out that since his release on bail, he has reported punctually each Monday except during the State of Alarm when these precautionary measures were suspended.

His 64-year-old client’s roots and those of his family are in Spain, Campos added, and there was little likelihood of his fleeing Spain at present.  The lawyer also drew attention to Zaplana’s illness, which puts him amongst those at greatest risk from Covid-19.

According the Spanish media, sources close to the Zaplana investigation hinted that neither the judge investigating his case nor the public prosecution department would refuse the request.