Major Protests in Paraguay Following Massive Bank Collapse

 

 Sofia Hedberg

 

Published 11:35 | Updated 11:37

             

        Demonstrators burn an effigy of former President Santiago Peña. Photo: Jorge Saenz / AP / TT

Millions of people are left without their savings following a bank collapse in Paraguay.

Thousands of protesters are demanding access to their money.

The ousted president has now been taken into custody.

Large-scale demonstrations are taking place in Paraguay after the country was struck by a major banking crisis.

The bank Ueno—used by approximately 60 percent of the country’s adult citizens—has collapsed. This has triggered an economic crisis, and former Paraguayan President Santiago Peña has faced intense criticism.

Prosecutors are investigating Peña for suspected links to the collapse; he is currently being held in custody at one of the country’s military bases.

According to the country’s chief prosecutor, Peña is under investigation for both corruption and financial crimes.

He was previously a co-owner of the company that controls the bank. Peña is accused of leveraging his political influence to direct hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds into Ueno.

Santiago Peña was ousted earlier this week following impeachment proceedings sparked by the banking crisis.

The demonstrations have been ongoing for several days, with police deploying both pepper spray and rubber bullets against the crowds.  

20-year prison sentence

Shortly before his ouster, he made a statement. "I do not want my presence to cause further division or instability. My responsibility is to put the country before my personal fate," he wrote in his farewell message, according to Reuters.

On Tuesday, the country’s regulatory authority froze the accounts of three million customers, triggering the nation’s biggest political crisis in a decade, according to the AP.

The former president now faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors have also requested that a judge freeze his assets during the investigation.

Santiago Peña has denied any wrongdoing.