The Paraguayan side of the Itaipu hydroelectric dam still holds nearly R$1 billion at collapsed digital lender Ueno Bank, alongside R$86 million from its Paraguayan employees’ pension fund, as a judge ordered impeached former President Santiago Peña held in pretrial detention. Prosecutors in Asunción formally charged Peña, who denies wrongdoing, with breach of trust and administration for personal gain, while Paraguay’s central bank said it has returned money to 1.2 million of Ueno’s 3 million customers.
Paraguay’s Senate voted 44-0 on Friday to remove Peña from office rather than accept his Thursday resignation, stripping him of the lifetime Senate seat and prosecutorial immunity granted to former presidents, and swore in Vice President Pedro Alliana to complete the term through August 2028. Prosecutors are investigating Peña’s ties to Ueno parent Grupo Vázquez, where he held a stake until March 2025, and the placement of $850 million in public funds at the lender, including a 4,600% surge in state pension fund deposits from 80 billion guaraníes to 1.6 trillion guaraníes ($380 million) since he took office in 2023.
