Judge orders pre-trial detention for Paraguay's ex-president Peña over Ueno Bank collapse

Paraguay's criminal judge for economic offences, Humberto Otazú, on Saturday ordered pre-trial detention for former president Santiago Peña, who will remain held at a presidential escort regiment in Asunción, according to BBC News Mundo and EFE. A day earlier, the Senate had removed him in an impeachment trial over the Ueno Bank case, with 44 votes out of 45 senators, according to the BBC.

Prosecutors have charged him with alleged breach of trust, as instigator, and with administration for personal gain, as perpetrator. Prosecutor Christian Benítez, quoted by EFE, said both offences, in their aggravated form, carry up to 10 years in prison. The charges allege that Peña intervened in the placement and retention of public and pension funds in the bank, with whose group he allegedly had financial ties. Peña denies wrongdoing, according to the BBC, and his lawyer says he did not take part in the bank's operations.

The Central Bank of Paraguay opened a resolution procedure for Ueno Bank after finding solvency below 50 % of the required minimum, and more than 3,000,000 accounts were frozen, according to ABC Color; EFE speaks of about 2.94 million customers. The interim head of the Central Bank, Pedro Acosta, put at 1,196,000 the number of people who have already received the state guarantee, for a total of 996,000 million guaraníes, equivalent to 160 million dollars, in the payments made on Thursday and Friday, according to EFE.

The Itaipú hydroelectric company filed a criminal complaint to recover its funds at the bank, which as of November 3 amounted to 115,200 million guaraníes and 163.8 million dollars, according to its statement reported by ABC Color. That newspaper puts at 4.9 trillion guaraníes the amount deposited by public institutions and the Social Security Institute, whose president said pensions will be paid on time, according to the BBC.

It is still not known where the money managed by the bank is: the new vice president, Antonio Barrios, said Pedro Alliana's government will ask allied countries for help to trace it, according to EFE.