Paraguay President Pena impeached after bank collapse
Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena has been impeached and placed under house arrest after the collapse of a digital bank left more than half of the country’s population unable to access their own money.
Senate votes to remove the president
Pena was detained on Friday, minutes after senators voted to remove him from office over his links to the failed lender, Ueno Bank. Forty-four of the 45 senators backed impeachment, with one lawmaker absent, and Senate President Basilio Nunez announced that Pena had been found guilty of dereliction of duty.
The speed of his fall was striking. Impeachment proceedings had only begun on Wednesday, and Pena had tried to step down the day before the vote. But lawmakers, including members of his own party, chose to impeach him and charge him with misconduct rather than accept his resignation — a move that stripped him of his lifetime Senate seat and the immunity granted to former presidents.
The bank collapse behind the crisis
At the heart of the case is the collapse of Ueno Bank earlier in the week, one of Paraguay’s fastest-growing digital banks. The failure froze the accounts of millions of customers and triggered a financial crisis and widespread public anger across the country.
The impeachment charges alleged that Pena had conflicts of interest, manipulated regulatory oversight, diverted pension funds, and took part in an institutional cover-up involving the central bank. The bank had links to his private business interests, and investigators are also looking into allegations of money laundering, corruption and illicit enrichment.
What happens next
Prosecutor Silvia Margarita Gonzalez Vester said Pena would be questioned on Saturday over allegations of breach of trust, influence peddling and misappropriation of funds. He was placed under house arrest while the investigation continues.
Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as interim president the same day and promised not to “abandon” the millions of people affected by the scandal. Alliana will finish the term, which ends in August 2028, and has pledged that those affected by the financial collapse will be compensated.
It remains unknown whether the investigation will lead to convictions, or how quickly the new government can restore access to the frozen deposits.
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Source: BBC, 7 November 2026; World-Intel, 8 November 2026