Paraguay: Peña under house arrest following collapse of Ueno bank
The Senate removed Santiago Peña unanimously. The prosecutor's office accuses him of abuse of power and embezzlement in favour of the digital bank Ueno.
Removal and arrest of former Paraguayan president Santiago Peña
Former Paraguayan president Santiago Peña has been placed under house arrest following the bankruptcy of the digital bank Ueno, according to welt.de. The prosecutor's office accuses him of abuse of office, unlawful influence and using his position for personal gain. The maximum penalties for the most serious offences reach ten years' imprisonment.
Peña must remain at one of his residences in Asunción until his appearance before the prosecutor's office on Saturday morning. The prosecutor's office has also ordered the arrest of former central bank governor Carlos Carvallo. His situation was not immediately known at the time.
The Senate had previously removed Peña on Friday for dereliction of duty. The 44 senators present voted unanimously in favour of his removal. Former vice-president Pedro Alliana was sworn in the same day as president and is to complete the current term until August 2028.
Peña had submitted his resignation on Thursday, but Congress refused to accept it and pursued the removal procedure. This removal costs him his right to a lifetime Senate seat and the parliamentary immunity attached to it.
Alliana, 52, belongs to the Conservative Colorado party, which has held power in the country for a long time. He was previously governor of the southern province of Ñeembucú and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. The prosecutor's office has also opened an investigation into him. However, an opposition attempt to initiate a removal procedure against him was dismissed by parliament on Thursday.
Deputies accused Peña of using his political influence to direct hundreds of millions of dollars of public funds towards Ueno. Peña denied any wrongdoing. He had held shares in the bank's parent company before being forced to sell them last year under pressure.
In a few years, Ueno became Paraguay's fifth largest bank in terms of deposits. More than 800 million dollars of public funds fuelled its growth, and it attracted more than two-thirds of the country's adults as customers.
After the central bank took control of the institution on Tuesday, nearly three million customers were temporarily unable to access their savings. Thousands of people took to the streets to protest. A transport service that depended on the Ueno platform also suspended its activities, leaving 3,000 drivers without work.
First reimbursements began on Thursday. Deposits are guaranteed up to approximately 35,000 dollars, which covers, according to the central bank, 97 per cent of the institution's customers.
Source: Google News LU DE