Paraguay’s ousted president charged over banking scandal

Former Paraguayan President Santiago Peña was charged after questioning in Asunción on November 7, a day after his impeachment; he is under house arrest. He is accused of directing hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds to digital bank Ueno and shielding it from regulatory scrutiny, allegations he denies. The bank’s collapse, after receiving more than $800 million in public funds, has left nearly half the country unable to access their savings and sparked protests, some of them violent. Carlos Carvallo, whom Peña appointed central bank chief in 2023, was also charged.