PARAGUAY · BANKING ANALYSIS
Published Saturday, 7 November 2026, 9 a.m. ET · Source: prosecutors’ charge filings and court notices as published, Supreme Court press office, Senate proceedings, Banco Central del Paraguay
Ueno Bank, Paraguay’s digital bank with nearly 3 million clients, is at the centre of a criminal case in which prosecutors charged 27 people on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Nobody has been convicted, but reports say a court has ordered pretrial detention (held in custody before trial) for several of the bank’s directors.
Who else is liable, from regulators to a former president, is still open, and The Ueno Bank case explained gives the background. On Friday 6 November the Senate removed President Santiago Peña, and prosecutors ordered his detention in a separate case.
Key Facts
- The charge Prosecutors charged 27 people on Wednesday 4 November over loans to companies tied to the bank’s owners.
- The detained Reports say a judge ordered pretrial detention for six bank officials and house arrest for two on Thursday 5 November.
- The president The Senate removed President Santiago Peña on Friday 6 November; prosecutors ordered his detention in a separate criminal case.
- The money Prosecutors say a US$74.4 million loan portfolio was sold to a linked company in June 2026.
- Still open Nobody has been convicted, and no trial date is set.
- Power Index Paraguay ranks 10th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 35.0 points (November 2026 edition).
Twenty-seven people are charged and several bank directors are in pretrial detention, but the question of who else may face questions over the collapse is still open.
Who Is Charged and With What
Case file 89/2026 charges 27 people with breach of trust (lesión de confianza), improper conduct in crisis situations, attempted fraud and breaking the duty to keep commercial books. The Ministerio Público, Paraguay’s public prosecutor’s office, filed it, and guarantee judge Humberto Otazú admitted it.
Eight of the accused are on the bank side: seven directors and one statutory auditor, known as the síndico. They include Federico Miguel Vázquez Villasanti, known as Miguel Vázquez, the main shareholder of Grupo Vázquez, the family business group behind the bank, and Juan Manuel Gustale, the bank’s president.
The other 19 are shareholders, presidents or directors of six companies tied to the loans. Their custody was not stated, and prosecutors asked for travel bans, bail and asset freezes (no selling or pledging of property, frozen accounts).
Prosecutors allege that the bank lent money, with little or no collateral, to companies tied to its own owners. The central bank sent its findings on those loans to the prosecutors, and the total is not stated in the charge reports we found.
Prosecutors also point to a cash sale on 15 June 2026 of a loan portfolio worth US$74.4 million to Vinanzas SA, a company later confirmed as linked to the bank. They say the sale was simulated, because Vinanzas had no funds of its own and the money came back through firms that had borrowed from Ueno, after the bank supervisor pressed the bank to shed loans to linked firms.
Who Is Held and Why
Eight bank officials were detained and brought before guarantee judge Rodrigo Estigarribia at 07:30 on Thursday 5 November. Prosecutors had asked for pretrial detention (prisión preventiva) for Vázquez only.
Reports say the judge ordered pretrial detention for six, including Vázquez, Gustale, former vice-president Julio Rey Fernández, director Diego Duarte Schussmuller and auditor Miguel Ángel Almada Frutos. Some reports also list director Alejandro Gómez Abente among the six, and counts vary.
Two women directors, Diana Mongelós González and Mariana Torres Rubiani, received house arrest with ankle monitors. Reports say each is the mother of young children.
The Cases Against Peña and Carvallo
On Friday 6 November the Senate, sitting as a court in an impeachment trial (juicio político) for “poor performance of duties”, removed President Santiago Peña. All the senators present voted yes, 44 in most reports, after the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house, sent up the accusation.
Vice-president Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president that evening. The same day, the economic crimes and anti-corruption prosecutors ordered the detention of Peña and Carlos Carvallo, the former central bank president, in a separate case, file 92/2026.
Reports say prosecutors named preliminary offences of breach of trust, influence peddling (tráfico de influencias) and administration for personal benefit, and say these classifications are subject to change. The order is a prosecutors’ detention order, not an arrest in the act.
Peña was a business partner of Grupo Vázquez until March 2025 and says he sold his stake then, while Carvallo chaired Ueno until 2023, when he moved to the central bank. Carvallo resigned as central bank president this week and surrendered on Friday 6 November.
On Saturday 7 November Peña is due to give his statement (indagatoria) to prosecutors in the late morning. Carvallo follows in the mid-afternoon, though reports differ on times, and prosecutor Christian Benítez is on Peña’s case.
Who Else Could Be Liable
Attorney General Emiliano Rolón Fernández confirmed the investigation on Thursday 5 November. No charge against any other official has been reported.
No charge is reported against the head of banking supervision at the Banco Central del Paraguay. Their absence from the charge sheets is not a finding of innocence.
The central bank opened its resolution procedure, a state-run wind-down, late on Monday 2 November, after Ueno’s solvency ratio fell below half the legal minimum. Whether supervisors acted early enough is not yet answered.
The Legal Path From Here
After the statements, prosecutors must bring the case and any requests for precautionary measures to the duty Juzgado Penal de Garantías. That court then convenes a hearing to decide the suspects’ procedural position.
As a general outline, not a timetable, an investigation follows, then prosecutors file an accusation or ask for dismissal. A trial would come only after an accusation, and no date exists.
In Plain English
- Imputación A formal accusation admitted by a judge. It is not a conviction.
- Prisión preventiva Pretrial detention, ordered before a verdict as a precaution.
- Arresto domiciliario House arrest, here with an electronic ankle monitor.
- Juzgado Penal de Garantías The court whose judge guards defendants’ rights before trial.
- Lesión de confianza Breach of trust, the main offence named in both cases.
- Juicio político The Senate’s political trial of a president, not a criminal trial.
The Strongest Counter-Argument
The allegations are unproven, and detention at this stage is a precaution rather than a verdict. The defendants may rebut the charges, and no court has yet heard their evidence at trial.
Peña’s removal was political, not criminal, and he has denied wrongdoing. His lawyers say his resignation should have been accepted, and the offences named against him may change.
What It Means for You
Depositors are covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund, a state-backed insurance scheme set up by a 2003 law, up to 75 minimum wages per person per institution, Gs 228.3 million (about US$35,900 at Gs 6,358 per US$, the market rate on Friday 6 November 2026), according to the Supreme Court’s 5 November notice. A 2026 law adds a mechanism to advance the payment, and our depositors’ guide explains the steps.
For readers in the United States, the practical point is that the process has only begun. Headlines about guilt or liability run ahead of what any court has decided.
What Is Not Known
The final size of the shortfall alleged at Ueno is unknown, and totals vary by report. It is unclear whether a judge will formally charge Peña, Carvallo or any regulator, and what measures follow.
Counts of those detained vary by report, and so is the custody of the 19 people tied to the linked companies. Nor is it known how the court will treat the six detention orders on appeal, or who will lead the central bank permanently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has been charged over Ueno Bank?
Prosecutors charged 27 people on 4 November 2026: eight on the bank side and 19 tied to six linked companies. Nobody has been convicted.
Is Santiago Peña facing a criminal trial?
Not yet. The Senate removed him in a political impeachment trial on 6 November, and prosecutors ordered his detention in a separate criminal case, where his statement is due on 7 November.
Are Ueno Bank depositors protected?
The Deposit Guarantee Fund covers up to Gs 228.3 million (about US$35,900) per depositor per institution, according to the Supreme Court’s 5 November notice. A 2026 law adds an advance-payment mechanism.
Part of the dossier: Paraguay Crisis, Peña Removal and Ueno Bank
The Ueno Bank case explained · Who supervised Ueno Bank · Ueno Bank scandal timeline · Ueno Bank depositors guide · Ueno Bank and money laundering · Santiago Peña removed by the Senate · Ueno Bank glossary
Sources: Ministerio Público charge filings in cases 89/2026 and 92/2026, 4 to 6 November 2026; Supreme Court press office notice of 5 November 2026; Senate and Chamber of Deputies proceedings of 5 and 6 November 2026; Banco Central del Paraguay resolution procedure, November 2026. Read on 7 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief