Safe in former president Peña's San Bernardino mansion found empty
Prosecutors and police opened the hidden chamber behind the false wall of Santiago Peña's mansion. They found no cash or valuables: it was a panic room.
The fortified safe in Peña's mansion contained no cash
Officers from Paraguay's Public Prosecutor's Office and Police opened a high-security safe on Tuesday that had remained hidden in the mansion of former president Santiago Peña, located in San Bernardino, Cordillera department. The interior contained no cash or valuables. According to infobae.com, investigators determined it was a panic room.
The procedure is part of judicial proceedings aimed at clarifying financial operations linked to Ueno Bank and the alleged benefits that entity would have obtained during the former president's administration.
Two days of work to breach the second door
The opening took place after two days of work at the property. During the first search, on Sunday, investigators discovered a structure concealed behind a false wall: it had two doors and a sophisticated protection mechanism. Officials managed to pass through the first door, but the second withstood all attempts by the operation team.
The system's complexity forced suspension of that part of the procedure. The residence remained under custody while the team prepared a new intervention. On Tuesday they returned with the necessary means to complete the operation.
Prosecutor Silvia González explained that access was made possible thanks to information provided by Peña through his lawyer, who indicated where the security key was kept. "He cooperated with the procedure," González said. According to the defence, the space was designed to protect its occupants in the event of an emergency, not to store valuables.
Computers seized and transferred to SENABICO
Despite the safe's discovery having raised questions about its characteristics and the secrecy surrounding it, the inspection yielded no cash or items of patrimonial interest. The Public Prosecutor's Office did, however, incorporate computers seized during the proceedings, which will be examined as part of the investigation.
Following the operation, the property was transferred to the National Secretariat for Administration of Seized and Forfeited Assets (SENABICO), the body responsible for managing assets subject to judicial measures. Its head, Teresa Rojas de Jara, was present during the procedure. Military personnel who had previously maintained surveillance over the residence ceased that function.
Ueno Bank loans to finance the mansion
The residence is also under scrutiny regarding how it was financed. Construction is reported to have required an investment of approximately 7,700 million guaraníes. On 13 May 2024, Peña received two simultaneous loans from Ueno Bank totalling 3,548 million guaraníes intended to finance the summer residence.
The monthly instalments on those loans amounted to approximately 239 million guaraníes, a figure equivalent to roughly six times the presidential salary, calculated at the time as 37.9 million guaraníes.
Ueno Bank was intervened on 3 November after solvency problems were detected that affected its operations. The crisis left approximately three million customers with difficulties accessing their deposits and placed the Vázquez Group, the business conglomerate to which the bank belonged, under investigation. Prosecutors are seeking to determine whether irregular manoeuvres occurred and whether Peña used his institutional position to favour the entity's interests. The former president had maintained links as an indirect shareholder until 2025.
Searches in Asunción and at home of former Central Bank chief
As part of the investigation, other properties were also inspected. On Monday, investigators reviewed a residence of the former president in Asunción for almost five hours, from which they removed documents, mobile telephones, computers and surveillance camera recordings.
Additionally, procedures were carried out at a banking facility and at the home of Carlos Carvallo, former president of the Central Bank and former member of Ueno Bank's board of directors.
Source: Google News PY — Crime