Paraguay Prosecutors Open Three Criminal Probes, Including One Involving Peña, as Congress Votes on His Resignation

Since Santiago Peña announced his resignation on Thursday, Nov. 5, and the lower house impeached him 78-0 over the collapse of Ueno Bank, the fight has moved from the presidential palace to the prosecutors' office and the Senate.

Paraguay's prosecutor's office said Thursday that Attorney General Emiliano Rolón Fernández has ordered three criminal investigations into the Ueno crisis. They include allegations involving Peña and other current and former government officials.

The probes will examine how authorities supervised the bank, how they handled its failure, and why public money was placed there. Peña said on X that he would cooperate. "Whatever the outcome of this process, I will act with responsibility and respect for the Constitution," he said.

No charges against Peña have been announced.

The vote that decides his legal exposure

Congressional leaders are scheduled to keep voting today, Friday, Nov. 6, on whether to accept Peña's resignation. Acceptance would let Vice President Pedro Alliana be sworn in without a Senate trial.

Opposition senators want the trial anyway. Their argument: if Peña resigns instead of being removed, he keeps his eligibility to become a senator for life, a post with legal protections that could block prosecution should Rolón decide to file charges.

The impeachment charges are already headed to the Senate, so the chamber has to decide what to do with them if the resignation is accepted.

What regulators found

The central bank seized Ueno earlier this week and froze the accounts of roughly three million customers, about 60% of Paraguay's adults. Regulators found poorly documented lending and expenses booked as assets. Once the books were corrected, Ueno's capital sat at half the legal minimum.

The bank had been authorized as a digital bank at the end of 2023, under Peña's government, and grew quickly through grocery cash-back offers and sponsorship of the national football team. The team released a letter Wednesday demanding a "forceful response" from the government and the courts.

Ueno also held between $800 million and $850 million in deposits from state and pension entities, including retirement funds.

Peña's defense

Peña held a stake in a holding company that controlled Ueno until last year. He has described that as an "investment" he has since sold, and denied direct connections to the bank itself. When local press questioned whether state and pension money was steered to Ueno, he called it a "false media campaign" meant to weaken his government.

In his resignation video he apologized "if I have failed them at any point" but did not accept responsibility for the crisis. He said he was stepping down for "the stability of our country, social peace and the need to preserve our democratic institutions."

The central bank link is a separate problem. Carlos Carvallo, a former Ueno executive whom Peña had tapped to run the central bank, resigned earlier this week at Peña's request.

Party turns on him

Horacio Cartes, Peña's mentor and the Colorado Party's leader, backed impeachment. The party would not side with "the plundering of public and private funds and pensioners' money," he said. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Cartes in 2023 over bribery allegations, and the Trump administration lifted those sanctions last year.

Ruling-party deputy Alejandro Aquilera told colleagues during the debate: "In the face of these accusations, I can't pretend to be oblivious." He said more than three million Paraguayans had been harmed.

Peña was welcomed in Washington just weeks ago as a key ally of the Trump administration.

Arrests and the currency

Several Ueno executives have been detained. Paraguayan media reported that prosecutors on Thursday sought preventive detention for 27 senior executives and others, including former CEO Miguel Vázquez. Prosecutors have not detailed that request in the statements available.

The guaraní fell nearly 4% against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, according to central bank exchange-rate data. That brings its losses this week to nearly 7%.

On Wednesday, a rush to open accounts at other banks crashed their mobile apps. Depositors, retirees and workers are still waiting to recover frozen savings and unpaid wages, and authorities have not given a date for when Ueno customers will regain access.

The immediate question is the Senate. If Congress accepts the resignation today and the impeachment charges are dropped, Rolón's three investigations become the only route to holding Peña accountable, and a seat as senator for life could complicate any case against him.