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Paraguayan President Santiago Peña resigned from office on Thursday after Ueno Bank closed in the middle of the night due to a solvency crisis, leaving millions of customers unable to access their money and sparking a scandal.
“I have made the decision to present my resignation from the presidency of the Republic. I do so keeping in mind the stability of our country, social peace and the need to preserve our public institutions,” he declared in a message published on social networks.
“Today my priority is only one thing: the peace of mind of Paraguayans who have entrusted their savings to our financial system,” he added.
The Paraguayan Congress, which was beginning impeachment proceedings against Peña following the Ueno bank scandal, will have to decide whether to accept or reject the resignation.
“History will judge and take due consideration of the events we are experiencing today,” Peña said. “I apologize to people if I disappointed them at any point.”
Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies began an extraordinary session on Thursday to debate accusations made by 35 opposition deputies and ruling party dissidents against Peña in order to trigger the impeachment mechanism provided for in Article 225 of the Constitution.
The charges accuse Peña of “serious and systematic dereliction of duty” and propose to “remove from office” the president, who took power in August 2023 for a five-year term.
How the scandal unfolded
The president of Paraguay found himself embroiled in the crisis that erupted after the intervention of Bank Ueno, a private institution to which he was linked and which, during his mandate, received millions of funds from public entities, including the Social Security Institute (IPS), which manages the pensions of most of the country’s workers.
CNN contacted the presidency before Peña’s resignation to inquire about the allegations against him.
The Central Bank of Paraguay found that the solvency ratio of Ueno Bank – with 2.9 million customers in a country of 6.1 million inhabitants – had fallen below 50% of the required minimum, “due to adjustments made to its financial statements during the regularization process”.
Following the resolution or dissolution procedure, the savings of thousands of customers were frozen at the financial institution, also known for sponsoring local soccer teams and the Paraguayan national team.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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