MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Prosecutors open the vault at Peña’s house and find it empty; two safes found at Ueno Bank

Prosecutor Silvia González said Peña, through his lawyer, indicated where the key was, which made it possible to open the room. “We found nothing of value inside,” she said

Paraguayan prosecutors on Tuesday opened the armoured vault hidden in former President Santiago Peña’s summer house in San Bernardino, two days after finding it, and found it empty. In a second raid, at Ueno Bank’s headquarters, they found two more hidden safes, one containing about US$14,000 in cash.

Prosecutor Silvia González said Peña, through his lawyer, indicated where the key was, which made it possible to open the room despite its complex security system. “We found nothing of value inside,” she said. According to the defence, the space was built as a “panic room”. Images released show an empty space with ventilation and electrical connections, without furniture. The house, which cost about 7.7 billion guaraníes (US$1.25 million) financed with loans from Ueno Bank, has passed to the administration of Senabico, the state body that manages seized assets.

Neighbours say three SUVs left the residence several times on Friday, November 5, as the Senate began Peña’s impeachment trial, and surveillance cameras reportedly recorded the vehicles’ movements. It has not been reported what they were carrying.

At Ueno Bank’s headquarters, known as La Matrix, investigators found a safe about 1.70 metres tall hidden behind a wall in a rooftop bathroom, linked to the offices of former vice-president and chief executive Miguel Vázquez. It contained documents and drinks, but no money. A second safe was in a false bottom in the bathroom of his office. Prosecutor Jorge Arce opened it and found 87.1 million guaraníes, about US$14,000 in cash, along with documents and empty bags.

An appeals court meanwhile upheld Vázquez’s pre-trial detention and provisionally expanded the legal classification of his case to money laundering and criminal association, so he could face up to 15 years in prison, according to the newspaper La Nación of Paraguay. Peña, charged with breach of trust and self-serving administration, has been in pre-trial detention since Saturday and says he is innocent. Prosecutors estimate the damage at about US$809 million.

Opposition lawmakers criticise prosecutors for not having seized Peña’s mobile phone and for delaying the raids, which they say allowed evidence to be removed, and are calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Emiliano Rolón. The Colorado Party has the votes to block it.