At a Glance

• Prosecutors in Paraguay have charged recently removed President Santiago Peña with two crimes tied to the collapse of Ueno Bank.

• A judge ordered him held at a military base while investigations continue.

• The case has set off the country's biggest political crisis in a decade.

Prosecutors in Paraguay on Saturday charged former President Santiago Peña over the collapse of a major bank that has put the savings of hundreds of thousands of account holders at risk, a day after the Senate removed him from office.

Key Statements and Focus Area

• Opposition on Accountability: "He must go, but not home. He must go to a maximum-security prison. The public is fed up with impunity." — Yolanda Paredes, opposition senator.

• Peña's Farewell Message: "I do not want my presence to be a cause of greater division or instability. My responsibility is to put the country above my personal fate." — Santiago Peña, former President of Paraguay.

• Focus Area: The criminal charges against Peña and the fallout from the Ueno Bank collapse.

Chief corruption prosecutor Nancy Salomón said Peña will be investigated for breach of trust and administration for personal gain, crimes that carry up to 20 years in prison if he is found guilty of both.

Prosecutors asked for his assets to be frozen and for him to be jailed during the probe, and Judge Humberto Otazu granted the request, ordering him held at a military base to guarantee his compliance.

Peña was questioned earlier in the day at the Attorney General's compound in Asunción, escorted by police but not handcuffed. He has denied wrongdoing.

Regulators intervened in Ueno Bank on Tuesday, freezing the accounts of nearly 3 million customers.

Lawmakers accuse Peña of using his influence to steer hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds into the bank while regulators overlooked risky insider lending.

Congress rejected his resignation on Thursday and pressed ahead with impeachment, and the Senate removed him unanimously on Friday night.

Prosecutors then ordered the arrest of Peña and former Central Bank chief Carlos Carvallo, and Peña was moved to a military base as hundreds of protesters gathered outside his home.

Vice President Pedro Alliana replaced him and began naming a new Cabinet on Saturday. The Central Bank said 1.2 million Ueno customers have received partial or full reimbursement, with deposits of up to $37,000 insured.

Protests have intensified, with clashes involving rubber bullets and pepper spray, and the country's largest teachers' union, with more than 40,000 members, plans an indefinite national strike Monday to press for protection of public pension funds.

Some demonstrators also want Alliana, a close Peña ally, investigated.

FYI

Paraguay returned to democratic rule in 1989 and has since been governed mostly by the conservative Colorado Party, to which Peña belongs.

Opposition lawmakers pushed for his removal rather than resignation to stop him leaving office with immunity.

Ueno grew rapidly in under five years to serve more than 60% of Paraguayan adults.

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Paraguay's President Under Investigation After Bank Collapse