Paraguay's President Under Investigation After Bank Collapse
At a Glance
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña is under criminal investigation after the collapse of Ueno Bank.
Peña offered to resign, but both houses of Congress declined and are pressing ahead with a Senate trial.
Millions of depositors and thousands of workers are affected by the bank's failure.
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña is facing a criminal investigation and a possible removal from office on Friday after the collapse of one of the country's largest digital banks turned his own party against him.
Key Statements and Focus Area
Peña on His Resignation: "I want to apologize to the people if I have failed them at any point. It was never my intention to betray the trust they placed in me." — Santiago Peña, President of Paraguay.
Protester on the Crisis: "Santiago Peña and the Colorado Party have stolen all our savings." — Luis Pineda, protester outside Congress.
Focus Area: The Ueno Bank collapse and the political fallout threatening Peña's presidency.
Peña offered his resignation on X, but the lower house voted unanimously to impeach him, and both houses refused to accept it. Opposition senators say a resignation would let him become a senator for life, with legal protections that could block prosecution.
Attorney General Emiliano Rolón Fernández has ordered three criminal investigations into the oversight of the bank, the handling of its failure, and the placement of public funds in it, and Peña said he would cooperate. If removed, Vice President Pedro Alliana would take over.
Ueno grew rapidly to claim more than 60% of Paraguayan adults as customers. Peña held a stake until last year in a company linked to it and appointed a former head of its predecessor to lead the central bank that supervised it.
Regulators seized the bank on Tuesday after finding poorly documented loans and capital below half the legal minimum. A state guarantee fund began repaying depositors Thursday, with accounts up to about $36,000 insured.
A judge ordered six executives jailed pending trial, and prosecutors have charged 27 officials and associates with breach of trust and attempted fraud.
About 7,000 jobs are affected, and laid-off workers have protested over unpaid wages.
FYI
Paraguay recently earned investment-grade credit ratings, and Peña was welcomed in Washington just weeks ago as a key ally of the Trump administration.
The country ranks worse than all South American nations except Venezuela on Transparency International's corruption index, and the Colorado Party has dominated its politics for roughly 70 years.
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