Paraguay’s Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday added a charge of “criminal association” as perpetrator against former president Santiago Peña, who already faced charges of breach of trust and self-serving administration in the investigation into the multimillion-dollar collapse of Ueno Bank.
Prosecutors allege Peña and other defendants formed an organized structure inside the state apparatus to subordinate the financial system and oversight bodies to the interests of the Vazquez Group/Ueno Bank conglomerate.
The new charge also covers former Central Bank of Paraguay’s head Carlos Carvallo, three former members of the bank’s board and the BCP’s superintendent of banks, Holger Insfrán, in the probe into the intervention of the failed bank.
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Prosecutor Christian Benítez told reporters that criminal association and breach of trust are classified as offenses “preceding” money laundering. He clarified that the new charge does not increase the potential sentence for Peña, which prosecutors had set at 15 years days earlier.
#Mundo | La Fiscalía de Paraguay imputó al expresidente Santiago Peña por presunta asociación criminal en el marco del escándalo de Ueno Bank. La causa también involucra al expresidente del Banco Central, Carlos Carvallo, al superintendente de Bancos, Holger Insfrán, y a los… pic.twitter.com/sdkQkY1K0S
— ÚltimaHoraCaracol (@UltimaHoraCR) November 13, 2026
Text reads: “The Prosecutor’s Office of Paraguay charged former President Santiago Peña with alleged criminal association in the context of the Ueno Bank scandal. The case also involves former Central Bank President Carlos Carvallo, Superintendent of Banks Holger Insfrán, and former executives Marco Aurelio González, Liana Caballero, and Miguel Ángel Mora.”
Alleged State Structure
According to a statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the defendants “would have been part of an organized structure with a distribution of roles,” with the alleged purpose of favoring interests tied to the Vazquez Group and Ueno Bank. Prosecutors say the coordination, agreements and material acts were carried out jointly by Peña, Carvallo, Insfrán, Liana Caballero, Miguel Mora and Marco Aurelio González, according to the posts they held in the Presidency and the Central Bank.
Prosecutors argue that the structure was hierarchical and that Peña maintained cross-cutting financial interests with the conglomerate, including shares, bonds and relatives linked to offshore structures in U Holdings. That company is a limited liability firm incorporated in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on September 29, 2023, and is directly linked to the Ueno Bank scheme.
Under the prosecution’s hypothesis, Peña strategically placed and kept in decision-making posts people he trusted or who had prior corporate ties: Carvallo, a former President of Ueo finance company , at the head of the Central Bank; Insfrán at the Superintendency of Banks; and Caballero, Mora and González on the regulator’s board.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office said the former board members allegedly knew of technical reports warning of excesses in credit limits for companies linked to Ueno Bank, as well as other questionable financial operations, yet did not direct corrective measures. One former board member, whose identity was not specified, is also accused of producing and using false public documents.
Peña’s Ties to Ueno
Prosecutors base the expanded charge partly on the claim that in March 2019 Peña acquired 1,500 preferred shares of Credicentro, later Ueno Holding S.A.E.C.A., for 1.5 billion guaraníes (around 241,855 U.S. dollars). Peña, in office since 2023, held shares in the parent business group and was a partner of Ueno’s owners until well into 2025, according to Paraguayan press reports. During his administration, Ueno received state tenders and contracts.
Carvallo left the presidency of Ueno finance company on August 14, 2023, a day before Peña took office and declared financial assets linked to Vazquez Group worth 8.894 billion guaraníes (about 1,434,000 U.S. dollars). On September 7, Peña appointed Carvallo head of the Paraguayan Central Bank by a presidential decree. Carvallo resigned on November 3, when the scandal broke. He also faces charges of breach of trust, producing false public documents and self-serving administration.
Insfrán was detained Thursday during a search of his home, while former board members González, Caballero and Mora were arrested Friday.
Peña was removed by impeachment for “poor performance of his duties” on November 6, the same night he was detained by the National Police. During the proceedings, it was claimed that about $1.2 billion in public funds and Paraguayans’ savings were lost with Ueno Bank’s closure, after the Central Bank intervened and began a resolution and liquidation procedure. Authorities have seized light aircraft, luxury vehicles, a yacht and documents, and prosecutors have requested cooperation from international agencies and Luxembourg, where Ueno Bank has a parent company.
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