Uruguayan Bernardo Algorta linked to Ueno Bank fraud in Paraguay
A Uruguayan businessman based in Paraguay appears as director of Ueno Bank, the entity at the centre of the scandal that led to presidential impeachment proceedings.
Uruguayan businessman at the epicentre of Paraguay's banking scandal
The judicial investigation opened in Paraguay against Federico Miguel Vázquez Villasanti, president of the failed Ueno Bank, reveals the name of a Uruguayan citizen involved in the fraud, according to carasycaretas.com.uy. It is Bernardo Algorta, a businessman who has been based in the neighbouring country for years.
Until last week, Algorta served as titular director of Ueno Bank S.A. and was a member of the boards of several companies associated with the Vázquez Group: the technology company Itti S.A.E.C.A., Grupo Vázquez S.A.E., and the corporate mobility platform Mowi, where he served as vice-president.
From alternate director to titular director in less than six months
On 31 January 2024, the board of directors of Ueno Bank communicated to the Stock Exchange that, within the framework of the merger by absorption of Visión Banco S.A.E.C.A., the resignations of Julio Rey, Eduardo Gross Brown and Guillermo Vázquez were accepted. In their place, the chief syndic Pablo Debuchy appointed, among others, Bernardo Algorta as alternate director. "Those appointed have accepted the position," the official communication stated.
Just five months later, on 6 June of that same year, Algorta was listed as titular director in communications sent to the Securities Superintendence, the Central Bank and the Stock Exchange of Paraguay.
Profile of an executive with two decades in agribusiness
On the website of Itti—a company providing software to financial entities—Algorta is described as "a leader with 20 years of experience in Agribusiness, trained in Administration and Marketing at ORT University of Uruguay". According to that profile, he was commercial director at a commodities multinational before joining the Vázquez Group in 2019 to lead its "transformation and expansion".
Itti has operated since 2004 with its own banking software, the ITGF, defined by the company as "the most widely used solution in the" Paraguayan financial market for regulated and unregulated entities.
Network of companies linked to the Vázquez Group
Algorta also sat on the board of Terravaz S.A.E.—previously called Radice S.A.E. and incorporated on 28 August 2018—a company engaged in real estate business involving purchase, sale, intermediation and administration with offices in Paraguay.
He also appeared as titular director of Nubicom Paraguay S.A., the recipient of the 5G network awarded by Conatel, whose executives maintain close ties with the entourage of President Santiago Peña.
Another company in the group in which he served as director was Parque Isla de Francia S.A., incorporated on 4 July 2023 and dedicated to the administration of sporting activities. That company became the centre of a political debate when it rented a property from the Social Security Institute (IPS) in the Isla de Francia area in Asunción, an area historically linked to nursery gardeners and florists. In August last year, the Chamber of Deputies requested from the IPS a detailed report on the state of canon payments. The reports received revealed that control of the company had passed to executives linked to the Vázquez Group, which generated political questioning in various sectors.
Mowi, the Uruguayan platform with operations in Paraguay
Algorta also directed the Paraguayan branch of Mowi, a corporate mobility technology platform founded in Uruguay and accelerated by the Ingenio Incubator. The company offers executive transport, staff transportation, airport reception services, express messaging and event logistics, automating the logistics processes of its clients without requiring them to invest in their own fleets. It includes 24-hour human monitoring and a white-label format called Mowi Inside for other organisations to use its technological infrastructure.
A high-level equestrian past
Before consolidating his business career in Paraguay, Algorta excelled in Uruguayan equestrian sport. In October 2011 he obtained the individual and team Gold Medal at the Pan-American Endurance Riding Championship held in Uruguay.
The context of impeachment proceedings in Paraguay
The case is developing in parallel with the parliamentary debate in Paraguay on impeachment proceedings against the president of the republic. The collapse of Ueno Bank and the judicial investigation against Vázquez Villasanti have become the axis of the scandal pressuring the government of Santiago Peña. The appearance of a Uruguayan businessman holding executive positions in multiple companies in the group adds a cross-border dimension to the case.
Source: Google News PY — Crime