Impeached Paraguay leader charged over shock implosion of bank

Paraguayan prosecutors charged impeached ex-president Santiago Pena over his alleged role in a banking crisis that saw millions cut off from their money and sparked major protests.Impeached Paraguay leader charged over shock implosion of bankPena, Paraguay's youngest-ever president, was removed from office by the Senate on Friday, three days after the collapse of a leading bank with which he had business links.He had offered to resign but lawmakers impeached him instead, thereby stripping him of the immunity he would have enjoyed had he stepped down.In a fast-moving sequence of events, he was brought before prosecutors on Saturday and charged with "breach of trust and mismanagement for personal gain."The indictment stated that "between 2023 and 2026, UENO BANK S.A. allegedly received deposits and loans from public and pension entities" and that it "was also allegedly granting loans to companies linked to the bank's economic group in an irregular manner."Pena was grilled for around three hours over his links to Ueno bank, a digital-first fintech company in which nearly half of Paraguay's population of 6.5 million have accounts.The 47-year-old economist held shares in Ueno holding, the controlling company of the bank, until last year.Prosecutors asked that he be remanded in preventive custody and that his assets and those of former Central Bank president Carlos Carvallo, who is charged with the same offenses, be frozen.Carvallo, a former president of Ueno, is set to be questioned by prosecutors later Saturday.Pena spent Friday night in custody after being arrested within an hour of his lightning-fast Senate impeachment trial.Protesters gathered outside his home to demand he be sent to a regular prison."We want to see the person responsible for this tragedy in jail. Jail for Pena!" Macarena Chilavert, a 33-year-old lawyer, told AFP near the prosecutor's office.He was succeeded by former vice president Pedro Alliana, who promised not to abandon the almost three million depositors, including pensioners, affected by Ueno's demise.On the streets of Asuncion there was rejoicing over Pena's ouster.But the news that Alliana, who is from the same right-wing Colorado Party, would take over angered some demonstrators."He's from the same team, he knew about it ," Edson Vazquez told AFP.- US ally -The collapse of Ueno, which handled the accounts of several state entities as well as state pensions, rocked usually stable Paraguay.Thousands of people took to the streets furiously demanding their money back after the Central Bank took control of Ueno, citing fears for its solvency.The Central Bank said it had begun making advance payments to an unspecified number of depositors.Pena's removal is a further blow for US President Donald Trump's network of allies in South America.Trump's favorite for Brazilian president, Flavio Bolsonaro, was defeated by left-wing incumbent Lula Inacio Lula da Silva last month.Alliana will serve out the remainder of Pena's term, which ends in 2028.Writing on X Saturday, Juan Pablo Segura, US assistant secretary of state for Western hemisphere affairs, called Paraguay a "strategic partner, friend and ally of the United States" and said Washington looked forward to working with Alliana.str-tev/sa/cb/mspThis article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.