A police and prosecutors’ search of the luxury villa of former Paraguayan president Santiago Peña has brought to light a hidden structure inside the building: a false wall, an invisible passage and an armored door leading to a safe that remains unopened. The discovery comes as the former head of state is under investigation over financial ties to Ueno Bank.
Search at the summer residence
The operation was carried out on Sunday at Peña’s summer residence in San Bernardino. According to the official version and reporting by local media, the searches are part of the investigation into the financial scandal linked to Ueno Bank.
During the search, authorities came across a false wall, behind which a hidden passage was discovered leading to an armored door. Behind it was a safe with an advanced security system.
The safe was not opened
According to local reports, the security system included a digital password and biometric recognition. Suspicions published in the media also mention iris scanning and facial recognition, which made it impossible to open during the operation.
So far, there is no official information about the contents of the safe. It is precisely this information gap that has heightened interest in the search and the role the residence may have in the financial case under investigation.
Two loans and questions over the source of the money
The villa has become central to the investigation because of Peña’s financial relationship with Ueno Bank. According to the investigative file cited by local media, on May 13, 2024, while he was still in office, the bank granted him two loans simultaneously with a total value of about $600,000 for the construction of the residence.
The total cost of the villa is estimated at about $1.3 million. According to the same reports, the monthly loan installments reached $37,200, a sum about six times higher than the presidential salary, raising doubts about the project’s financial sustainability.
Wider investigation into Ueno Bank
The case is not limited to the property alone. The investigation is also linked to the crisis at Ueno Bank, which was placed under the administration of the Central Bank of Paraguay after severe financial problems and a decline in solvency indicators.
According to local media, Peña is accused of breach of trust and administration for personal benefit. Following political developments and his removal by Congress, he was arrested and is being held in pretrial detention at a military facility in Asunción.
For now, the most striking element of the case remains the safe that authorities were unable to open.
What lies behind the armored door remains unknown, but the very discovery has deepened suspicions about how the relationship between the former president and the bank at the center of the scandal was built and financed.