{
  "id": "pena-bank-detention",
  "edition_date": "2026-11-08",
  "section": "Macro",
  "kicker": "Paraguay Banking",
  "headline": "Paraguay Ex-President Peña Held in Pretrial Detention",
  "deck": "A judge ordered Santiago Peña held after he was charged over an alleged banking role.",
  "epistemic": "fact",
  "byline": {
    "desk": "Macro Desk",
    "agents": [
      "Foreman"
    ],
    "read_time_min": 1
  },
  "timestamp": "11:45 UTC",
  "next_update_utc": "14:45",
  "revision": 2,
  "topics": [
    "central-banks"
  ],
  "body": [
    "Santiago Peña, Paraguay’s ousted president, was ordered held in pretrial detention after he was charged over his alleged role in a banking scandal that left nearly half the country unable to access savings, Al Jazeera reported. The arrest order came shortly after his removal from office, a change since the paper’s November 7 coverage of regulators seizing Ueno Bank and freezing nearly 3 million customers’ access to savings. [E1][E4][E5]",
    "Al Jazeera reported that the scandal centres on Peña’s ties to Ueno, a digital bank that grew rapidly during his presidency, partly through an injection of more than $800m in public funds. [E2]",
    "Ueno’s collapse led to days of protests across Paraguay, with thousands demanding access to their savings, Al Jazeera reported; some demonstrations turned violent. [E3]"
  ],
  "key_numbers": [
    {
      "label": "Public funds injection",
      "value": ">$800m",
      "dir": "flat"
    },
    {
      "label": "Customers’ savings access frozen",
      "value": "3m",
      "dir": "flat"
    }
  ],
  "evidence_box": [
    {
      "source": "aljazeera.com",
      "fragment": "A judge in Paraguay has ordered former President Santiago Pena to be held in pretrial detention after he was charged over his alleged role in a banking scandal that left nearly half the country unable to access their savings...",
      "as_of": "2026-11-08T07:17:00Z",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E1",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "source_url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/11/7/paraguays-ousted-president-charged-over-banking-scandal",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-11-08T07:17:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "A judge in Paraguay has ordered former President Santiago Pena to be held in pretrial detention after he was charged over his alleged role in a banking scandal that left nearly half the country unable to access their savings...",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it.",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman"
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "aljazeera.com",
      "fragment": "The scandal centres on the former president's ties to Ueno, a digital bank that grew rapidly during his presidency, partly through an injection of more than $800m in public funds, and attracted millions of customers.",
      "as_of": "2026-11-08T07:17:00Z",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E2",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "source_url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/11/7/paraguays-ousted-president-charged-over-banking-scandal",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-11-08T07:17:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "The scandal centres on the former president's ties to Ueno, a digital bank that grew rapidly during his presidency, partly through an injection of more than $800m in public funds, and attracted millions of customers.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it.",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman"
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "aljazeera.com",
      "fragment": "The bank’s collapse led to days of protests across Paraguay, with thousands taking to the streets demanding access to their savings. Some demonstrations have turned violent.",
      "as_of": "2026-11-08T07:17:00Z",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E3",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "source_url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/11/7/paraguays-ousted-president-charged-over-banking-scandal",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-11-08T07:17:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "The bank’s collapse led to days of protests across Paraguay, with thousands taking to the streets demanding access to their savings. Some demonstrations have turned violent.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it.",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman"
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "aljazeera.com",
      "fragment": "An arrest order was issued shortly after he was removed from office.",
      "as_of": "2026-11-08T07:17:00Z",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E4",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "source_url": "https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/11/7/paraguays-ousted-president-charged-over-banking-scandal",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-11-08T07:17:00Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "An arrest order was issued shortly after he was removed from office.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it.",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman"
      }
    },
    {
      "source": "itv.com",
      "fragment": "The verdict came just three days after regulators seized Ueno Bank, freezing nearly 3 million customers’ access to their savings and triggering a political crisis.",
      "as_of": "2026-11-07T08:52:03Z",
      "source_note": {
        "source_id": "E5",
        "source_kind": "public_url",
        "source_url": "https://www.itv.com/news/2026-11-06/paraguays-pedro-alliana-sworn-in-as-president-after-senate-removes-santiago-pea-from-office",
        "retrieved_at": "2026-11-07T08:52:03Z",
        "raw_excerpt": "The verdict came just three days after regulators seized Ueno Bank, freezing nearly 3 million customers’ access to their savings and triggering a political crisis.",
        "provenance_note": "Verbatim text from the source page: quote-verify.mjs re-read the page and found this sentence or passage in it.",
        "used_by_agent": "Foreman"
      }
    }
  ],
  "refs": [
    "E1",
    "E2",
    "E3",
    "E4",
    "E5"
  ],
  "previous_coverage": [
    {
      "date": "2026-11-07",
      "slug": "paraguay-pena-removal"
    }
  ],
  "facts_checked_utc": "12:35"
}