Catholic Church demands urgent restitution to victims of Ueno Bank fraud in Paraguay
Bishop Ricardo Valenzuela demanded immediate restitution of frozen savings from the Basilica of Caacupé. The scandal led to the removal of former president Santiago Peña.
Church pressures new Alliana government following Ueno Bank collapse
The Catholic Church of Paraguay demanded on Sunday the "urgent" restitution of funds for those affected by what it described as a "monumental fraud", linked to the closure of Ueno Bank, and urged the application of exemplary sanctions against those responsible. This was reported by primerahora.com, which covered the homily of Bishop Ricardo Valenzuela from the Basilica of Caacupé.
"We request, we ask, we demand the urgent return of money from all defrauded persons," Valenzuela declared during the Sunday mass celebrated in the basilica erected in honour of the Virgin of Caacupé, patron saint of the country.
The crisis unfolded last Tuesday, when the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) ordered a procedure for the resolution and dissolution of Ueno Bank, an institution that had 2.94 million clients in a country of 6.1 million inhabitants. During the tenure of now former president Santiago Peña, the entity received substantial resources from public agencies.
The scandal led to Peña's removal through impeachment and the assumption of the presidency by Pedro Alliana, who was vice president of the Republic until Friday.
"With profound sadness, we see that our humble people were struck where it hurts most, in their daily needs," said the bishop, alluding to those persons whose funds intended for "payment of their basic services and other elementary necessities" remain frozen.
Valenzuela acknowledged that "appropriate measures" have been "taken" in the political sphere, but warned that "the people demand real and sincere solutions". He stated that Alliana's new government has a "commendable task and a historic opportunity to cleanse the nation, once and for all".
The bishop also warned that the fraud harmed State institutions that deposited "thousands of millions of guaraníes" and "millions of dollars" in Ueno, "many of them knowingly that the banking failure was on its way". "That lost money is also money from the people," he lamented.
Among the affected entities are the Institute of Social Welfare (IPS), one of the country's largest pension funds, the binational Itaipú dam and the accounts of approximately 32,000 retirees.
Valenzuela demanded that "everything retained be returned to its owners, as is appropriate, and that those responsible be subjected exemplarily to the rigours of justice".
On Saturday, the Archbishopric of Asunción had issued a statement in which it warned that "one cannot deny or minimise the indignation, frustration and pain of society", calling for "justice, without impunity".
The Asunción Episcopate stressed that political authorities "cannot and must not act as if everything has returned to normality", and emphasised that "the citizenry remains alert, especially young people, to their actions and decisions".
Source: Google News PY — Crime