Nine vehicles, a yacht and two planes seized in the Ueno Bank case in Paraguay

Nine high-end vehicles, a yacht, two aircraft, and numerous documents were seized in Paraguay as part of the investigation into the closure of Ueno bank. This affair cost Santiago Peña, now the former president, his position, as well as Carlos Carvallo, former president of the Banco Central del Paraguay (BCP). Peña was removed from office through an impeachment trial. A judge placed him in pre-trial detention on Saturday for the duration of the investigation. Peña's ties to the institution have been denounced.

What was seized

Records from the Ministerio Público and the police list nine vehicles, estimated at 1.4 million dollars by local media and lacking license plates. Among them are a Porsche 911 GT3, a Bentley Continental GT, an armored Mercedes-Benz Brabus 500 G, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class, a BMW M8, a Lexus LX, a Toyota Tacoma, and a Toyota RAV4. They were found at the Asunción home of Miguel Vázquez, one of the bank's founders, and then entrusted to Senabico, the agency in charge of seized assets.

An Azimut yacht named "Zeus," which reportedly belongs to Vázquez, was moored in a private condominium in San Juan del Paraná, in the Itapúa department. Two planes were also seized: a Beech Aircraft Corporation model 300, built in 1984 and registered in Ueno's name, and a 1979 Beechcraft B55 belonging to Grupo Vázquez.

Raids and properties

In an office of Grupo Vázquez, owner of Ueno Holding, investigators found a vault containing documents. Their contents were not immediately made public. The raids also targeted Technoma, which the prosecutor's office says is linked to the group, and Itti, an IT company of Grupo Vázquez. At Itti, sources from the prosecutor's office report that documents, laptops, servers, and phones were seized. The daily newspaper ABC Color indicates that the operations could affect thirteen other companies in the group, without further details.

The Ministerio Público also had three luxury properties checked in Altos, about fifty kilometers from Asunción. They are reportedly linked to Miguel Ángel Almada Frutos, César Astigarraga Lambaré, and Miguel Vázquez, all of whom are implicated in the case. According to the director of the national registry, Lourdes González, 47 properties have been identified in connection with the bank.

Asset freezes and arrests

The BCP had ordered the resolution of Ueno bank last Tuesday due to solvency problems. At its request, a civil and commercial court ordered the precautionary seizure of the assets of the representatives of Grupo Vázquez and Ueno bank. It covers 70 million dollars and a portion of the bank's deficit equivalent to approximately 255.6 million dollars, plus some 9,370 dollars in legal fees.

According to Cubadebate, the BCP's intervention has deprived millions of people of access to their savings.

Several executives were arrested: Miguel Vásquez, the principal shareholder, Juan Manuel Gustale Cardoni, Julio Rey Fernández, Alejandro Gómez Abente, Diego Duarte Schussmuller, Miguel Ángel Almada, Mariana Torres Rubiani, and Diana Mongelos González. Vásquez and five other executives were sent to prison.