finding in 2015
The strongest evidence in the Erial case centers on documents that triggered the investigation into former Generalitat president and former Minister of Labor Eduardo Zaplana. These papers contained no DNA traces. Experts from the biology department of the Civil Guard’s criminalistics service forwarded an expert analysis of the so-called Syrian documents to the fourth department of the Valencian Court to search for hidden lophograms. The people who may have used the documents are no longer identifiable. Investigators reported negative results, finding no traces of individuals connected to the material.
DNA testing was cited as a tool with limited impact in this context. It did not advance or undermine Zaplana’s position, a point he himself sought to emphasize in his defense. The documents examined by the Civil Guard, also described as the road map or Syria papers, outline a structure for building a corporate network intended to channel bribes allegedly paid by the Cotino family to the former minister.
The bundle of typewritten pages was discovered by a Syrian citizen at Zaplana’s Valencia residence on Plaza de la Legión Española and subsequently came under the control of money manager Marcos Benavent. The documents entered the Civil Guard’s custody during a search of the office of Benavent’s former lawyer.
This road map prompted the Civil Guard’s Unidad Central Operativa and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office to initiate proceedings in November 2015, culminating in the arrest of two alleged intermediaries and Zaplana himself on May 22, 2018. The Cotino family and Jose Luis Olivas, who had served as Zaplana’s successor in the Generalitat, were also implicated in the case.
evolving developments in 2015
Zaplana’s defense challenged the validity of the road map presented by Benavent on two separate occasions, arguing against the credibility of the documents. The authorities remained steadfast in their cooperation with justice. The Civil Guard’s investigative unit, working in concert with prosecutors, proceeded with the case.
Marcos Benavent has since expressed remorse about the collaboration that began in 2021, noting his concerns about the propriety of searching his former lawyer’s office without proper authorization. Both Benavent and his former lawyer Ramiro Blasco are expected to testify as witnesses in the Erial case. Zaplana designated Benavent as a witness, while the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office offered Blasco as a witness.
On October 5, 2023, the fourth department of the Valencia Tribunal provided a set of materials described as a white folder containing multiple documents in two transparent covers to the Civil Guard’s Criminalistics Service. The objective was to examine the documents for potential lophoscopic, biological, or genetic remnants and to compare any findings with Zaplana’s verified genetic profile and with human DNA databases managed by the Civil Guard. Three samples were presented: material at the outer folder edges, an internal document edge, and another internal edge sample. A defense expert report later stated that none of these could be linked to latent lophograms. The Civil Guard’s report dated December 7 concluded that the DNA study did not yield a positive result for the documents in question.
The Erial trial is set to begin on February 1, with Zaplana and fourteen others, including four companies, facing proceedings. The proceedings are anticipated to run through June. Zaplana’s successor in the Generalitat, Jose Luis Olivas, will also appear, alongside members of Zaplana’s inner circle. The prosecution seeks a lengthy prison term for Zaplana, including a 19-year sentence.