Paraguay’s ex-president Pena faces new charge over Ueno bank collapse

What the report says

Paraguayan prosecutors have filed a new criminal association charge against former president Santiago Pena in connection with the collapse of digital lender Ueno, Al Jazeera reported on 13 November 2026. The charge comes after Congress removed Pena from office a week earlier, and it adds to earlier accusations of breach of trust and self-dealing. He is being held in pretrial detention at a military facility and has denied wrongdoing.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Pena is accused of using his position to steer millions in state funds to Ueno while concealing or minimizing the bank’s financial problems, despite warnings about risky lending practices. The report also says he had financial links to the lender and held a stake in its holding company until last year. On Thursday, investigators searched his official residence in Asuncion and collected data as part of the case.

The case follows a political and financial crisis tied to Ueno’s collapse, which left customers unable to access their accounts and sparked protests demanding accountability. Prosecutors said they had identified assets abroad and were seeking to freeze them, while three former central bank officials were also arrested on related allegations. In separate background noted by the report, Fitch placed Paraguay’s sovereign rating on watch for a possible downgrade, and the central bank said it had returned savings to more than 1.8 million depositors.