Paraguayan prosecutors searched the presidential residence in Asunción on Thursday, Nov. 12, as part of an investigation into the collapse of Ueno Bank and alleged misconduct by former President Santiago Peña. (Foto: Instagram)
Paraguay’s Public Prosecutor’s Office carried out a search and seizure operation at the presidential residence in Asunción on Thursday, Nov. 12, as part of an investigation into the collapse of Ueno Bank. The inquiry is examining alleged misconduct by former President Santiago Peña, who was impeached and arrested amid the financial and political crisis.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Peña had a role in alleged breach-of-trust offenses as an instigator and self-serving administration as a principal, according to the prosecutor’s office. He is suspected of using his political influence to benefit Ueno Bank, where he was a shareholder and part of the controlling group until 2025. The allegations have not been established in court.
Investigators also arrested Holger Insfrán, banking superintendent at the Central Bank of Paraguay, on suspicion that he failed to supervise the financial sector. Manuel Astigarraga, an executive described as a close associate of Ueno Bank chief Miguel Vázquez, appeared before authorities Thursday morning. Vázquez is also in custody. In total, 10 bank executives and Carlos Carvallo, a former head of the central bank, have been detained in two parallel investigations.
Prosecutors said Peña could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted in the Ueno Bank case. The estimate was presented by members of the prosecutor’s office at a news conference on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The investigation is also examining whether Peña used public funds to benefit the bank, which received more than $850 million in public resources over five years.
The bank’s crisis emerged on Nov. 3, after authorities identified serious solvency problems. The Central Bank of Paraguay intervened, leaving about 3 million customers—roughly half the country’s population—unable to access their deposits. The episode prompted mass protests and a political crisis that culminated in Peña’s impeachment and arrest. He was 47 when he was arrested on Friday, Nov. 6.
The prosecutor’s office had searched Peña’s private residence in Asunción on Tuesday, Nov. 10, seizing documents, cellphones, computers and other electronic devices. On Saturday, Nov. 7, a judge ordered his pretrial detention, and he was taken to a military regiment in the capital. Investigators also searched his mansion in San Bernardino, about 50 miles from Asunción, where they found a concealed room with a safe. Peña showed investigators how to open it, but it was empty. After Peña left office, then-Vice President Pedro Alliana assumed the presidency.
