Paraguay’s prosecutors question ex-president over banking scandal

Paraguayan prosecutors on Saturday began questioning former president Santiago Pena over his alleged involvement in a banking crisis over which he was impeached a day earlier, a police source confirmed to AFP.

Pena, who is being investigated for breach of trust, influence peddling and embezzlement, entered the attorney general’s office in the capital Asuncion through a side door shortly after 11.00am (1400 GMT).

The prosecutor in charge of the probe, Christian Benitez, said that Pena could be formally charged as early as Saturday afternoon.

Senators voted unanimously on Friday to remove Paraguay’s youngest-ever president from office, three days after the implosion of Ueno Bank, one of the country’s biggest lenders.

The bank’s collapse left millions of people locked out of their accounts.

Pena, who had ties to the group that controlled the bank, had offered his resignation.

But lawmakers pressed ahead with impeachment proceedings in order to strip him of the political immunity he would have enjoyed had he stepped down.

He was succeeded by former vice president Pedro Alliana, who promised not to abandon the almost three million depositors, including pensioners, affected by Ueno’s demise.

Thousands of people took to the streets to demand their money back after the central bank took control of Ueno and froze its accounts over fears for its solvency.