MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Hidden armoured vault found in a Peña home built with Ueno Bank loans

The search is part of the case in which Peña was charged on Saturday with alleged breach of trust, as instigator, and self-serving administration, as perpetrator

Paraguayan prosecutors and police on Sunday searched a residence of former President Santiago Peña in Ciervo Cuá, in the San Bernardino district, about 50 kilometres from Asunción, built with loans from Ueno Bank. According to the newspapers ABC Color and Última Hora, they found an armoured vault behind a false wall that they were unable to open. The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the search, although its statement did not mention the vault, whose contents are unknown.

 According to ABC, the team found a concealed door in one of the rooms leading, through a corridor, to an armoured vault with a level 7 security system requiring several keys to open: facial or iris recognition, a fingerprint, a PIN code and security keys. Despite Peña’s removal from office, members of the Presidential Escort Regiment were still guarding the property, his summer residence, on Sunday.

 

The house cost about 7.7 billion guaraníes, roughly US$1.3 million, to build. According to the indictment, on May 13, 2024, already as president, Peña received two simultaneous loans from Ueno Bank totalling 3.548 billion guaraníes, about US$600,000, with monthly instalments of some 239 million guaraníes, almost six times his salary. Prosecutors estimate the total damage in the case at US$809.5 million.

The search is part of the case in which Peña was charged on Saturday with alleged breach of trust, as instigator, and self-serving administration, as perpetrator. Judge Humberto Otazú ordered his pre-trial detention the same day, which he is serving at the Presidential Escort Regiment barracks, citing a flight risk. Prosecutors allege that during his term Ueno received large deposits from public bodies while granting irregular loans to companies linked to its owners, the Vázquez Group. Peña, who was a shareholder in the bank’s controlling group until 2025, says he is innocent. Eight of the bank’s executives are in custody.

The new president, Pedro Alliana, ordered on Sunday that those affected by the bank’s closure should not pay fines, late-payment surcharges or interest arising from the crisis, and said nearly 1.2 million savers have already recovered their deposits, totalling about US$158 million. Repayments will continue throughout the week.