The Paraguay Senate impeached President Santiago Peña on Friday. Senators voted 44 to zero with one lawmaker absent. They removed him from office over his links to the collapse of digital lender Ueno Bank.
Senate President Basilio Núñez declared Peña guilty of poor performance in his duties. The vote followed the lower house approval of impeachment charges a day earlier.
Ueno Bank collapsed earlier in the week. The failure locked nearly three million customers out of their accounts. This number represented almost half the country’s population. Peña had held shares in the company that owned the bank until the previous year.
Charges against Peña alleged conflicts of interest, manipulation of regulatory oversight, diversion of pension funds and participation in an institutional cover-up involving the central bank. Peña denied any wrongdoing. He said the matter was a regulatory issue.
Peña offered his resignation on Thursday. Lawmakers rejected the resignation and pressed ahead with impeachment. This step stripped him of the lifetime Senate seat and parliamentary immunity normally granted to former presidents.
Vice President Pedro Alliana took the oath of office shortly after the Senate vote. He became the new president and will serve the remainder of the term until August 2028.
Alliana addressed the public after his swearing-in. He said: “Compatriots who are now going through a difficult time as a result of the financial collapse will be fully compensated.”
Prosecutors placed Peña under house arrest minutes after the impeachment. They ordered him to appear for questioning on Saturday. Possible charges included breach of trust, influence peddling and misappropriation of funds.
Crowds outside Congress celebrated the Senate decision as the vote concluded.
