Congressman Yamil Esgaib submitted an information request to the Executive Branch and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the activities and accreditation of the Honorary Consulate of Seychelles in Paraguay. The proposal, however, was not voted on, as the session was adjourned for lack of quorum and is expected to be resubmitted next week.
The lawmaker asks the government to clarify whether Paraguay has in fact granted official recognition to the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Seychelles on national territory. If so, he requests the date the representation was established and authorized, as well as information on the authority that approved its operation and the administrative act, resolution, diplomatic agreement, or legal instrument that formalized the recognition.
The request also seeks the date the exequatur was granted to Luigi Picollo Rojas to serve as Honorary Consul of Seychelles in Paraguay, along with certified copies of the resolutions, decrees, diplomatic notes, agreements, and other documents supporting the recognition and operation of the consular representation.
Esgaib argued that, according to publicly available information, the consulate is authorized to carry out consular functions throughout the national territory, "a circumstance that makes it pertinent to know the legal instruments that support its recognition, the date its activities began, the scope of its powers, and the oversight mechanisms exercised by the competent authorities."
The congressman maintains that the initiative aims to verify compliance with the procedures established by international law, national legislation, and diplomatic protocols applicable to the accreditation and operation of honorary consular representations in the country, as well as to gather information on the activities carried out by the representation and the oversight conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The request takes on added significance given that, in 2025, Paraguay's Public Prosecutor's Office had requested cooperation from the Seychelles islands as part of a case involving former President Mario Abdo Benítez, over bank accounts in the archipelago totaling nearly 21 million dollars. Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa, is internationally regarded as an alleged tax haven.