Ueno Brokerage Official Jailed Before Trial

PARAGUAY · JUSTICE

A Paraguayan judge has jailed a senior employee of the brokerage that carries the name of failed ueno bank, in a case that now touches the country’s former president.

A judge in Asunción, Paraguay’s capital, has sent a senior employee of ueno Casa de Bolsa, a brokerage that carries the name of failed ueno bank, to jail before trial. Judge Marcelo Saldívar ordered preventive detention, meaning jail before trial, on Wednesday 11 November for Andrea Benítez, the firm’s head of operations, who is accused of obstructing a criminal investigation.

Prosecutors, the officials who bring criminal cases, say she tore up printed papers as investigators arrived, and that some of the papers were reportedly linked to Santiago Peña, who was Paraguay’s president until the Senate removed him on 6 November. She is a suspect and has not been convicted, and her lawyer rejects the account.

What the Judge Decided

Prosecutors first asked for lighter measures and then switched to detention at the hearing. Saldívar agreed, and Benítez will spend ten days in the women’s holding unit of the police judicial department before moving to the women’s prison in the town of Emboscada.

The charge is “frustración de la persecución y ejecución penal”, in plain terms obstructing a criminal case. Paraguay’s Penal Code sets a penalty of up to three years in prison or a fine for the offence.

What Prosecutors Allege

Investigators searched the company on Monday 9 November, and prosecutors say security cameras show Benítez tearing up papers before they arrived. The papers included emails, reports, resolutions and contracts, and staff partly pieced them back together.

Her lawyer, Andrés Álvarez, says she had already cooperated and handed over documents, and he called the prosecution’s account “fantasiosa”, meaning fanciful. Reports differ on the time of the alleged tearing, so we do not state one.

Where the Former President Stands

Peña is a separate defendant in the wider ueno case. After the Senate removed him by impeachment on Friday 6 November, Judge Humberto Otazú, who handles economic crimes, ordered him held before trial at the presidential escort regiment, a military unit, instead of a common prison.

Among the charges, prosecutors accuse him as instigator of breach of trust under the Penal Code, which carries up to five years or a fine, and up to ten years in especially serious cases. They also accuse him as author of administering funds for his own benefit under Paraguay’s anti-corruption law of 2004, which carries up to ten years under the current text.

These are accusations, and no court has convicted him. The sentences above are legal maximums, not predictions.

The Bank Behind the Case

Paraguay’s central bank, the Banco Central del Paraguay, placed ueno bank, a digital lender with more than 2.5 million clients, into resolution, a takeover procedure, after its board voted on Monday 2 November. Prosecutors have charged former bank executives and people linked to borrowing companies, as our report on the ueno bank charges explains.

Itaipú, the giant Paraguay-Brazil hydropower dam, said it had about US$182 million at ueno on 3 November and has asked prosecutors for help recovering it, as we reported in our Itaipú story. Investigators also searched ueno’s head office and its brokerage on Monday 9 November, as covered in our report on the hidden safe.

What It Means for You

Paraguay holds an investment-grade credit rating, BBB-, the lowest step of that tier, since an upgrade by S&P Global Ratings, a US rating agency, on 17 December 2025, which came with a stable outlook. Manuel Doldán, an international affairs prosecutor at the Public Ministry, Paraguay’s prosecution service, said on Monday 9 November that his office is in contact with the United States, Luxembourg and Argentina to locate assets.

We found no restrictions announced for travellers or expats in Paraguay because of this case. Our look at what comes next for ueno bank and Paraguay covers the political stakes, and more is on our Paraguay page.

What Is Not Known

We do not know what the torn papers said, or whether investigators recovered enough of them to be used in court. We also could not confirm the licence status of ueno Casa de Bolsa or whether it faces any regulatory measure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Andrea Benítez?

She is head of operations at ueno Casa de Bolsa, a brokerage tied to ueno bank. A judge ordered her jailed before trial on 11 November.

What is she accused of?

Prosecutors accuse her of obstructing a criminal case by tearing up papers, some reportedly linked to former president Santiago Peña. The offence carries up to three years or a fine, and she has not been convicted.

What does preventive detention mean?

It is jail while a case is investigated, before any verdict. It does not mean the person is guilty.

What happened to ueno bank?

Paraguay’s central bank placed it into resolution, a takeover procedure, after its board voted on 2 November. Prosecutors have charged former bank executives and people linked to borrowers.

Sources: Hearing before Judge Marcelo Saldívar, Asunción, 11 November 2026; Public Ministry of Paraguay, press conference of prosecutor Manuel Doldán, 9 November 2026; Penal Code of Paraguay (Law 1160/97); Law 2523 of 2004 on illicit enrichment and the anti-corruption regime; Banco Central del Paraguay, resolution of ueno bank, 2 to 3 November 2026; S&P Global Ratings, sovereign ratings, 17 December 2025.