Paraguayan prosecutors have opened a secure room at the home of former president Santiago Peña and found it empty, as an investigation continues into the collapse of Ueno Bank.
The room at Peña’s property in San Bernardino had previously been described as a vault. Prosecutor Silvia González said on Tuesday, 10 November, that it was a panic room, according to the technical explanation she had received. She said nothing was inside and that no cash had been found there.
Investigators had searched the property on Sunday as part of the bank inquiry, but the reinforced space remained closed. González said Peña helped by telling officials where to find the key. The prosecutor said the room appeared to be new and not in use.
A panic room is a protected space intended to shelter people during a threat. The prosecutor’s description changes the picture of what investigators found: it was a room rather than a container in which money was discovered. The fact that it was empty when opened does not establish what may have been there at any earlier time.
Documents sought in separate search
Investigators also seized documents and electronic devices during searches of Peña’s properties. Those items were separate from the empty room in San Bernardino.
The state agency responsible for administering seized and confiscated assets has been put in charge of the house. Its head, Teresa Rojas, said the property could be rented while the courts determine its eventual fate.
On Tuesday, prosecutors also searched the Asunción home of former economy and finance minister Carlos Fernández Valdovinos. The public prosecutor’s office said the aim was to look for documents that could help establish whether he transferred public funds to Ueno during his time in office.
Fernández Valdovinos served as minister from the start of Peña’s government in August 2023 until March 2026. A search for documents is an investigative step, not a finding that a transfer was improper or that anyone committed an offence.
In a separate operation at Ueno’s headquarters, investigators opened a safe containing about US$14,000. That cash was found at the bank, not in the empty room at Peña’s property.
Prosecutors also searched the bank’s brokerage arm on Monday. Images released by the prosecution service showed torn documents recovered during that operation, including fragments appearing to be due diligence reports and correspondence.
Bank collapse and political fallout
Peña has been charged with breach of trust and administration for personal gain in connection with the wider investigation. He denies wrongdoing. He was placed in pre-trial detention at a military facility in Asunción. The criminal allegations remain to be tested through the legal process.
The former president had held shares in a company connected to the bank and sold his stake in 2025. Prosecutors allege that, while president, he intervened in decisions concerning the placement, renewal and maintenance of public and pension funds at Ueno. The allegation is not a court finding.
Paraguay’s central bank put Ueno into a resolution process after finding its solvency ratio had fallen below the required minimum. The subsequent intervention froze access to the accounts of millions of customers, leaving families and institutions concerned about their money.
Some depositors have since received payments from the deposit guarantee fund. Receiving a payment does not necessarily mean a customer has recovered their entire balance, and funds outside the guarantee remain subject to the bank’s resolution process.
The Senate removed Peña from office on 6 November, after he had offered to resign, and vice-president Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president. The impeachment was a political process; it was separate from the criminal case now being pursued by prosecutors.
