Ueno Bank Laundering Claims Remain Unproven

PARAGUAY · BANKING ANALYSIS

Published Saturday, 7 November 2026, 8 a.m. ET · Source: prosecutors’ requests as reported, the 2022 regional anti-laundering evaluation report, the October 2026 FATF plenary outcome

No charge of money laundering has been confirmed against anyone at Ueno Bank, the Paraguayan digital bank, but prosecutors have called in Paraguay’s anti-laundering agency to trace the money. On Thursday 5 November 2026 a prosecutor asked Seprelad, the Secretariat for the Prevention of Money or Asset Laundering and Paraguay’s financial intelligence unit, for the financial and company records of 27 people formally accused and 20 firms.

The case matters beyond Paraguay because Ueno, a digital bank with about 2.9 million clients according to reports, was put under a state-run resolution procedure by the central bank in early November. Anti-laundering ratings are set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global standard-setter whose lists foreign banks watch.

What Prosecutors Have Asked For

Prosecutor Yeimy Adle sent the request, reports say, as one of four prosecutors assigned to the Ueno case by the Attorney General’s office. Seprelad, led by Liliana Alcaraz, has five business days after receiving the note to reply in digital form.

The offences named include breach of trust (lesión de confianza), with reports also listing misconduct in a crisis, attempted fraud and breach of bookkeeping duties. Among the 27 people are Ueno president Juan Manuel Gustale and executive Miguel Vázquez, and the 20 firms include Vinanzas S.A., a company named in the case.

The note asks for each person’s and firm’s accounting, banking and corporate history. A request for records is a step in an inquiry, not a finding that money was laundered.

One Report Goes Further, and It Is Unconfirmed

A report published on Friday 6 November says the prosecutor service formally accused Carlos Carvallo, the former central bank president, of money laundering, illicit enrichment and criminal association. The same report says a Seprelad suspicious-activity report led the central bank to step in.

We found no statement from the Ministerio Público, Paraguay’s prosecutor service, that confirms either claim, and the other reports of the Seprelad request name only breach of trust. Carvallo, who chaired Ueno before leading the Banco Central del Paraguay, reportedly surrendered on Friday 6 November, and until a court rules he is a suspect, not a convict.

What the 2022 International Evaluation Found

The Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), the regional body that peer-reviews its members’ anti-laundering rules, adopted Paraguay’s evaluation report in Quito, Ecuador, on Thursday 28 July 2022. It rated the system’s effectiveness “moderate” and called for considerable improvements everywhere, with fundamental improvements needed in investigating and prosecuting laundering.

The report named banks, remittance firms and exchange houses as the sectors most exposed to criminal proceeds, while calling them mature in prevention. It added that suspicious-activity reports come mostly from banks and finance firms, and that the number of laundering cases arising from intelligence reports did not match Paraguay’s risk.

Banks are supervised for laundering by the Superintendencia de Bancos, a unit of the central bank, while Seprelad writes the rules and supervises some other sectors. The report is four years old and reviews the national system, not Ueno.

Is Paraguay on the FATF Grey List?

The FATF’s “grey list” names countries under increased monitoring for weak anti-laundering controls. Published summaries of the FATF plenary held in Paris from Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October 2026 list 18 such jurisdictions, and Paraguay is not among them.

We could not open FATF’s own page on 7 November, so this rests on those summaries. Neither FATF nor GAFILAT has commented on Ueno in anything we found.

What Is Not Known

It is not known whether prosecutors will add laundering to the charges, or what Seprelad will hand over when its five business days run out. Nor is it known whether Seprelad or the central bank had warnings about Ueno’s accounts before the takeover.

Any change in Paraguay’s international status would come only at a FATF plenary, and the next list update is due in February 2027. Whether GAFILAT will review the Ueno case is unknown.

What It Means for Readers

For investors and banks abroad, the test is whether a lending scandal becomes a laundering finding, because FATF lists judge a country’s whole system, not one bank’s failure. For savers in Paraguay, the laundering question is separate from the question of when deposits are paid out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Ueno Bank been charged with money laundering?

Not as far as published reports show. Reports of the 5 November request to Seprelad name breach of trust and related offences, not laundering, and one report alleging laundering charges against Carlos Carvallo is unconfirmed.

What is Seprelad?

Seprelad is Paraguay’s Secretariat for the Prevention of Money or Asset Laundering, its financial intelligence unit. It was created by Law 1015 of 1997 and sits under the presidency, according to the 2022 evaluation report.

Is Paraguay on the FATF grey list?

Published summaries of the 28–30 October 2026 plenary do not list Paraguay among the 18 jurisdictions under increased monitoring. FATF’s own list is the final word.

What did the 2022 evaluation find?

GAFILAT rated Paraguay’s anti-laundering system “moderate” on effectiveness and asked for fundamental improvements in prosecuting laundering. It named banks among the most exposed sectors.

Sources: Prosecutors’ request to Seprelad of 5 November 2026 as reported; GAFILAT Mutual Evaluation Report of Paraguay, adopted 28 July 2022 (executive summary, paragraphs 2–5, 10–12, 24–30); FATF plenary outcome of 28–30 October 2026 as published; reports of 6 November 2026 on the Carvallo accusation. 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