Paraguay removes president after Ueno Bank collapse

Paraguay’s Senate removed President Santiago Peña from office on Friday after finding him guilty of misconduct in a political trial linked to the collapse of Ueno Bank. He was arrested shortly afterwards and placed under house arrest.

All 44 senators present voted for his removal. The Senate’s verdict concerned his conduct in office; it was not a criminal conviction.

Peña had offered to resign on Thursday, but Congress did not vote on the resignation because it lacked a quorum, the EFE news agency reported. His removal means he loses the lifetime Senate seat and immunity he would otherwise have received as a former president.

Lawmakers accused Peña of using his influence to direct public money into Ueno while regulators overlooked risky lending, according to the Associated Press. Peña, who held shares in the bank’s parent company until last year, has denied wrongdoing. His lawyer, Ricardo Preda, argued that some of the matters attributed to Peña were the responsibility of institutions outside his control.

Vice-President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president after the vote. He pledged that people affected by the bank’s collapse would be fully compensated.

The failure left customers unable to access their savings and prompted protests in the capital, Asunción. The Associated Press reported that some depositors had begun recovering their money.