Former president of Paraguay's Social Security Institute (IPS) Vicente Bataglia was placed under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor on Thursday. Judge Rodrigo Estigarribia's decision was based primarily on the accused's irregular entry into the country, as confirmed by a report from the National Migration Directorate.
The official report, requested by the judge, shows that Bataglia left Paraguay for Italy on July 23, but there is no record of his regular re-entry before presenting himself to the Public Ministry on August 12. The document further indicates that after this appearance, on August 18, he left again for Argentina, returning after just three hours.
The judge considered it serious that the accused entered irregularly, especially knowing there had been a detention order against him since August 4. "This matter of entering irregularly should not be overlooked. What this suggests is that the person has ease of mobility," stated Estigarribia, justifying that there were no guarantees Bataglia would submit to the process while free.
Bataglia is under investigation for alleged breach of trust in a case involving an estimated property loss of 61 billion guaranis to IPS. The investigation points to a contract with company Neighpart S.A. for the construction of modular operating rooms at the Central Hospital, a project that, according to prosecutor Julio Ortiz, was never started despite million-dollar payments.
Upon arriving at the Palace of Justice in Asunción, Bataglia avoided details about his return to the country, limiting himself to stating that he was there to submit to justice and that his management was "absolutely transparent." His lawyer, Jorge Arturo Daniel, defended the legality of the entry, arguing that "all Paraguayans enter the country regularly, with a detention order or not."
Besides Bataglia, eight other former IPS employees have been charged in the same investigation, including his successor as institute president, Jorge Brítez, who already obtained outpatient freedom by paying bail of one billion guaranis.
Simultaneously, a new investigation was opened against Brítez, this time related to a 3.5 billion guaranis bidding process for maintenance of Central Hospital elevators. Brítez's lawyer, José Fernández Zacur, alleged political persecution and questioned the use of artificial intelligence in preparing the accusation, stating that the document contains arguments not contemplated in the national legal system.
Meanwhile, another former IPS president, Andrés Gubetich, who signed the initial contract with Neighpart, actively returned to the staff of the Yacyretá Binational Entity (EBY), the binational organization responsible for the Itaipu hydroelectric plant. Gubetich receives a monthly salary of 34,349,195 guaranis, but the Comptroller General of the Republic reported that he failed to comply with the obligation to submit his sworn asset declaration after returning to public service. The Comptroller had already detected in 2023 an asset increase of approximately 20 billion guaranis in his declaration over a four-year period. Gubetich and his wife also face a separate investigation for alleged fraud and money laundering related to the sale of four properties for $2,358,000.