Paraguay raids ex-president’s home: Why a bank crash brought down Pena

What the report says

Paraguayan police raided the home of ousted President Santiago Pena on Sunday as prosecutors expanded an investigation into the collapse of Ueno Bank, one of the country’s largest digital lenders, Al Jazeera reported. The raid followed a dramatic political shift in Asuncion: the Senate unanimously voted on Friday to remove Pena from office, and a judge later ordered him held in pretrial detention at a military facility while the case proceeds. Vice President Pedro Alliana has taken over and is expected to serve the rest of the term through August 2028.

According to the report, prosecutors accuse Pena of breach of trust and using his office for personal gain. They allege he used political influence to steer public funds toward Ueno despite his financial ties to its parent company, and that he benefited from two loans from the bank used to build his home. Pena has denied wrongdoing and said he will plead not guilty.

The bank’s collapse has shaken Paraguay’s economy and politics. Al Jazeera said Ueno froze access to savings for nearly three million customers, roughly half of the country’s population, after regulators found solvency problems and questionable lending. The government said it had already refunded 1.2 million customers, while protests have spread over access to money and concerns about public corruption.