Paraguay raids ex-president’s home: Why a bank crash brought down Pena

Santiago Pena faces charges of financial crimes following Ueno Bank’s collapse, which impacted half of Paraguay’s population. Paraguayan police have raided the home of ousted President Santiago Pena as part of an investigation into the collapse of one of the country’s largest digital banks .

The raid on Sunday comes after Ueno Bank’s downfall plunged the South American nation into its deepest economic and political crisis in recent years, sparking widespread protests. Pena, an ally of US President Donald Trump who came to power in 2023, was removed from office on Friday after the collapse of Ueno froze access to the savings of nearly three million customers, almost half the country’s population of 6.5 million.

The former president, who has denied wrongdoing, faces criminal charges over allegations that he used his political influence to channel public money into the lender despite having financial ties to its parent company. Pena was arrested after Paraguay’s Senate voted unanimously on Friday to remove him from office, rejecting his attempt to resign a day earlier.