Former Paraguay President Peña Ordered into Preventive Detention Over Ueno Bank Case

Paraguayan judge Humberto Otazú ordered former President Santiago Peña into preventive detention in the Ueno Bank financial scandal. Peña will serve the measure at the Presidential Escort Regiment in Asunción. The judge cited flight risk and possible obstruction of the investigation as grounds for the ruling.

Peña appeared before the Public Ministry on Saturday accompanied by his lawyer, Ricardo Preda, and declined to testify. Former Central Bank of Paraguay president Carlos Dagoberto Carvallo Spalding, also implicated in the probe, likewise refused to make a statement. Prosecutors Elena Fiore, Christian Benítez, Silvia González Véster, and Ruth Benítez presented the charges.

“One must have the guarantee of his permanence in the country and that is why the court has determined to decree preventive detention.”

The prosecution accuses Peña of alleged breach of trust and administration for his own benefit. Carvallo Spalding additionally faces an accusation of producing false-content public documents. The investigation examines Ueno Bank credit operations, companies linked to the entity, deposits from state bodies, and the conduct of financial supervision authorities.

The case follows Peña’s removal from the presidency by the Senate through an impeachment trial hours earlier. The judicial file opened alongside the political crisis that ended his presidency. His lawyer questioned the detention order, arguing there are no grounds to keep Peña in preventive custody, and said the defense will analyze a possible appeal.

Judge Otazú stated that the measure guarantees Peña’s presence in Paraguay during the proceedings. He also noted that Peña had access to information during his presidency related to the investigated Ueno Bank operations and other background matters relevant to the probe. The defense rejected the prosecution’s arguments.

The resolution carries special institutional sensitivity because it reaches a former head of the Executive Branch and a former head of the monetary and financial regulation body.