On July 30, 2024, during a closed session of the Instituto de Previsión Social (IPS), an out-of-court settlement was approved with Consorcio Hotelero Sudamericano SA for the payment of Gs 7.5 billion (Paraguayan guaraníes), related to a total debt of Gs 10.781 billion accumulated until November 2018. The agreement included an additional 5% for legal fees, but the explicit recommendation from then-councilor Víctor Insfrán to detail the payment procedure for court costs and fees was ignored in the final resolution.
As a result, José González Maldonado, former legal director of the IPS, was the sole beneficiary of the fee payment, receiving Gs 412.5 million directly into his personal account. This transfer occurred through a questionable financial triangulation, based solely on an internal note signed by María Graciela Cabral, an IPS employee, requesting the deposit into González Maldonado's private account or in cash.
IPS financial manager Gladys Vera complied with the order and transferred the funds from the institution's account to the former director's personal account, even after Consorcio Hotelero Sudamericano had deposited both the Gs 7.5 billion from the settlement and the Gs 412.5 million corresponding to the fees into IPS's official accounts. Thus, the institute ended up acting as a private collection agent for the former director's fees.
Although González Maldonado declared to the Comptroller General's Office that the fees were his exclusive income, he later made arbitrary payments to other professionals involved in the legal process against the Consortium, although it is unknown who received the funds or how much was distributed.
The investigation into illicit enrichment and breach of trust against González Maldonado led the Public Prosecutor's Office to formally summon IPS authorities to present a certified copy of the minutes from the closed session in which the agreement was approved. According to González Maldonado's own statements, the agreement had the endorsement of the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, and the legal opinions were sent directly to presidential economic advisor Juan José Galeano to ensure political and legal backing for the pact.
Context: IPS (Instituto de Previsión Social) is Paraguay's national social security institute, responsible for managing pensions and retirement benefits for Paraguayan workers. Major financial decisions by the IPS council directly affect pension funds and public finances, making transparency in settlements such as this a matter of concern for Paraguayan pensioners and taxpayers.