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The case of the collapse of Paraguay’s Uno Bank is continuously coming to light. Prosecutors have seized some foreign assets and are seeking to freeze them. They are also accusing former President Penana of criminal conspiracy, accusing him of colluding with officials to cover up the bank and making huge amounts of money disappear.
Paraguayan prosecutors today confirmed they have discovered the whereabouts of foreign assets belonging to failed digital bank Uno Bank, and are seeking additional charges against ousted former President Santiago Peña in connection with the bank collapse crisis.
The digital bank was taken over by the government on November 3 due to major solvency doubts, resulting in thousands of people’s accounts being frozen and plunging the country, which has always been politically stable, into chaos, Agence France-Presse reported.
Just three days later, senators impeached Peña. Pena is currently in pretrial custody, accused of abusing his power to obtain illegal benefits for the digital bank.
Although the Central Bank of Paraguay said 1.8 million depositors had withdrawn their money, most of the money deposited in Uno Bank was unaccounted for.
Prosecutor Francisco Cabrera said at a press conference today: “Several countries have reported the discovery of relevant properties.” But he did not tell which countries.
“We are taking the necessary procedures to request the seizure of these assets,” he said.
Prosecutors have previously said they have requested the United States, Luxembourg andargentina Help trace missing funds.
Prosecutors today also sought to charge Penha with “criminal conspiracy”, accusing him of colluding with a group of five central bank officials to protect Uno Bank.
According to court documents seen by AFP, “Pena is believed to have served as the head of this criminal structure”.
The document states that the group’s “long-term goal is to subordinate the financial system and regulatory agencies to the private interests of Grupo Vazquez and Uno Bank.”
Pena, 47, is accused of using presidential influence to divert millions of dollars of government deposits to Uno Bank, ignoring external warnings about questionable loans and solvency problems, and deliberately concealing or downplaying the bank’s financial difficulties.
The former leader denied all allegations; If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Summary FAQ
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Prosecutors said they have discovered foreign assets belonging to Uno Bank in several countries and are requesting the freezing in accordance with the law. At the same time, they continue to trace the flow of missing funds to the United States, Luxembourg, Argentina and other countries.
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Prosecutors are seeking additional charges of “criminal conspiracy” against Pena, accusing him of manipulating five central bank officials to protect the bank and being considered the head of an entire criminal structure.
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Following the acquisition of Uno Bank due to solvency concerns, the accounts of thousands of depositors were frozen. Although the central bank said 1.8 million people had withdrawn their money, most of the funds were still missing, and society was plunged into chaos.
