Former Central Bank of Paraguay president surrenders in Ueno Bank case
Carlos Carvallo, former head of the BCP, presented himself to police in Asunción following a fiscal arrest warrant linked to the Ueno Bank scandal.
Carvallo surrenders to authorities in the Ueno Bank case
Carlos Carvallo, former president of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), presented himself on Friday evening at the National Police's Investigation Department in Asunción, accompanied by his lawyer. The Prosecutor's Office had ordered his arrest in connection with the Ueno Bank case, according to infobae.com.
The Public Prosecutor's Office previously sent a note to the National Police Command with the arrest warrant. Carvallo was taken to the Specialised Unit, where he will remain until the Prosecutor's Office summons him to give a statement.
The former official held the presidency of the BCP from 1 September 2023 until 3 November of that year, when he resigned during the process of resolving the banking entity.
Expansion of complaint also implicates Peña and Fernández
On the same Friday, a fiscal delegation entered the BCP headquarters as part of an expansion of a complaint that also involves former president Santiago Peña and former Economy minister Carlos Fernández over new facts linked to Ueno Bank. The procedure was conducted by prosecutors Silvia González and Cristian Benítez.
The filing incorporated new lines of investigation into the actions of the regulatory body and the destination of public funds deposited in the entity. The complainants sought to determine whether the banking supervisor failed to intervene in a timely manner and whether public institutions acted in collusion by placing state resources in Ueno.
According to Paraguayan media outlet Última Hora, the expansion was promoted by senators Rafael Filizzola, Esperanza Martínez, Yolanda Paredes, Ever Villalba, Rubén Velázquez and Ignacio Iramain, along with deputies Raúl Benítez, Leide Galeano, Johana Ortega and Billy Vaesken.
Irregular credits and public funds in the hundreds of millions
The document noted that between May and November 2026 the BCP would have had knowledge of Ueno credits to linked companies totalling 743,784 million guaraníes—approximately USD 123 million—and of a portfolio sale to a related firm for USD 74.4 million. The Central Bank's technical department classified that transaction as a "prohibited operation", according to the complaint.
The legislators held that, despite these precedents, the BCP would not have required a regularisation plan nor acted in a timely manner. As of 30 September 2026, Ueno held 3.6 trillion guaraníes—approximately USD 576 million—and USD 233.4 million in public funds, a figure equivalent to 18.2% of state deposits in guaraníes and 22.9% of deposits in dollars.
Among the institutions whose resources appear in the complaint are the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the National Electricity Administration, the Banking Fund, Cajubi, Itaipú and the Social Security Institute (IPS). The IPS funds placed in Ueno increased from 80,000 million guaraníes in 2023 to 2.2 trillion guaraníes in 2025, an increase of approximately 27 times.
Other defendants in the case
The complaint for alleged breach of trust also reached superintendent of banks Holger Insfrán Ibarrola; directors Liana Emilce Caballero Krause, Miguel Ángel Mora and Marco Aurelio González Maldonado; and Chiara Antonella Renna Pereira, manager of Supervision at the Banking Superintendence since July 2026.
Source: Google News PY — Crime