Paraguay's Prosecutor's Office raids presidential residence over Ueno Bank scandal

WorldA team from the Paraguayan Attorney General's Office arrived at the Mburuvicha Róga —"leader's house" in Guaraní— to search it, as part of the investigation against former president Santiago Peña and the former head of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), Carlos Carvallo. Paraguayan Attorney General's Office. Photo: @MinPublicoPy on X. CommentsParaguay's Prosecutor's Office ordered an unprecedented search operation at the presidential residence this Thursday, occupied until last Friday by now-former president Santiago Peña, who was removed from office following the scandal over the intervention of Ueno Bank. The procedure, as reported by EFE, came after several raids on properties linked to the 47-year-old former leader, who is currently in pretrial detention. A team from the Attorney General's Office arrived at the residence of the head of the Executive, known as Mburuvicha Róga —"leader's house" in Guaraní—, as part of the investigation against the former president and the former head of the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP), Carlos Carvallo. The search for "information of interest to the case" was led by prosecutors Silvia González and Laura Giacummo. "Today's raid is part of the investigative proceedings driven by the prosecutorial team within the framework of the case investigating the former president," the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. Also this Thursday, in another search, Paraguay's Superintendent of Banks, Holger Insfrán, was detained at his residence. His agency, which is under the BCP, is tasked with supervising and regulating the entities of the local financial system. Prosecutor Christian Benítez confirmed the seizure of a mobile phone, a computer, and nearly 500 pages of documents from the Superintendence of Banks related to Ueno Bank. Benítez told the Paraguayan newspaper ABC that there are "elements of suspicion regarding the conduct" of the official, who was responsible for supervising the country's financial institutions. Peña is accused of using his influence to favor the bank, in whose parent company he held shares until 2025. He is alleged to have capitalized Ueno Bank with millions in public funds and to have concealed or downplayed its problems despite being alerted to irregular loans and insolvency risks. More on: ParaguayProsecutor's OfficeMburuvicha RógaSantiago PeñaUeno BankHolger InsfránWorld