Paraguayan prosecutor accuses Santiago Peña of criminal association in Ueno Bank case
Former Paraguayan president Santiago Peña faces new charges for criminal association, added to breach of trust charges, with an expected sentence of 15 years.
Former Paraguayan leader accused of leading criminal structure linked to Ueno Bank
The Paraguayan Prosecutor's Office presented charges on Friday for criminal association against former president Santiago Peña and former head of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), Carlos Carvallo, according to dw.com. The accusation extends to three former BCP executives and the superintendent of the banking sector, as part of the investigation into the intervention of Ueno Bank, an entity that received substantial public funds during Peña's administration.
Prosecutor Christian Benítez explained to the press that the new charge is added to those of breach of trust and administration for personal benefit, with which Peña had already been charged. Benítez clarified that both criminal association and breach of trust are considered offences "precedent" to money laundering. The expected sentence against the former leader remains fifteen years in prison.
Among the other accused is Holger Insfrán, superintendent of banks, detained the previous day during a search operation at his home. Also arrested were former BCP directors Marco Aurelio González, Liana Caballero and Miguel Mora.
According to a Prosecutor's Office document accessed by the AFP news agency, Peña allegedly acted as head of the criminal structure "from the Presidency of the Republic". The Public Ministry maintains that the former leader headed an "organised and hierarchical structure embedded within the state apparatus itself" to subordinate the financial controls of the BCP to the interests of the Vázquez Group, owner of Ueno Bank.
The accusation states that Peña allegedly held "periodic clandestine meetings" with Federico Vázquez, president of the group, at the presidential residence, and that he issued instructions to prevent the bank's intervention. He is also implicated in the placement of hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds in that entity, in which he himself allegedly held shares within the controlling group.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, BCP officials allegedly acted in a coordinated manner to conceal the financial irregularities of Ueno and allow the bank to continue accepting deposits despite warnings about its insolvency.
Santiago Peña was removed from office last week through a Senate impeachment trial for "poor performance of his duties" and was detained a few hours later.
Source: Google News PY — Crime