The Attorney General’s Office of Paraguay has carried out this Sunday a search and inspection operation at a property linked to former President Santiago Peña in the locality of San Bernardino, in the context of investigations into the financial collapse and the bankruptcy of Ueno Bank, according to what the Public Ministry itself has reported.
The procedure, led by prosecutors Silvia González, Christian Benítez and Elena Fiore, with support from agents of the National Police, has been carried out at a property located in the Ciervo Cuá area. This action forms part of the set of measures adopted after the charges were filed and the order for pretrial detention issued against the former head of state for the alleged commission of the crimes of breach of trust, in the capacity of instigator, and administration for one’s own benefit, as an author.
According to the Paraguayan newspaper "ABC Color", during the search of the residence—valued at around 7.7 billion guaraníes (about one million one hundred thousand euros) and acquired through two loans granted by Ueno Bank in May 2024—investigators found a vault hidden behind a false wall, equipped with a sophisticated security system with armored protection that could not be forced immediately.
The former head of State, who continues in pretrial detention by decision of Judge Humberto Otazú, is under investigation for his alleged involvement in the placement and maintenance of public and pension funds for approximately 3.6 trillion guaraníes (close to 505 million euros) and 233.4 million dollars (about 206.6 million euros) in Ueno Bank, an entity with whose business group he maintained shareholding ties.
The collapse of the banking entity led to the intervention of the parent bank and precipitated the fall of Peña’s Government, which has been replaced in the Presidency by the person who until then had been his vice president, Pedro Alliana.