Paraguay's Public Ministry filed a formal accusation on Tuesday against former Minister of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) Arnoldo Wiens, requesting that the case of the failed Metrobús project be brought to oral and public trial. Wiens, who is currently a pre-candidate for the presidency of the Republic for the Colorado Party (ANR), is accused of breach of trust and damage to constructed works or technical means of work, with an alleged loss to the state estimated at Gs. 14.955 billion.
The accusation, signed by prosecutors Nathalia Silva, Yeimy Adle, and Giovanni Grisetti, maintains that Wiens, during his tenure at the head of MOPC (August 2018 to July 2019), made administrative decisions that led to the paralysis and definitive abandonment of the Bus Rapid Transit (BTR) project. Among the questioned measures is the signing of "Understanding Act No. 2" in October 2018 with the construction company Mota-Engil, which altered the original bidding object, replacing the construction of the main line with traffic rehabilitation works.
According to the complaint, the change resulted in the destruction of already executed infrastructure, such as stations, drainage, and concrete sidewalks, whose construction cost exceeded Gs. 6.9 billion. Additionally, the prosecution points out that the demolition of the six stations in section three was carried out without the required prior technical report, mandated by the Attorney General's Office to safeguard the country's interests in a potential international arbitration. Materials and waste from the project were also allegedly sent to public sites without authorization from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the project's financier.
The Metrobús project, financed with $125 million from the IDB and $19 million from the OFID Fund, began in 2016 and planned the construction of an exclusive bus corridor on one of the main access routes to Asunción. However, after years of controversies, halted works, and questions about the use of public funds, the project was abandoned. During Wiens' tenure, MOPC disbursed about Gs. 180 billion in work certifications, but the built infrastructure ended up unused.
Wiens, who had already appealed to the courts to try to annul his indictment, argues that previous judicial decisions benefited his predecessor in the position, Ramón Jiménez Gaona, former minister during the government of Horacio Cartes. The defense of the former minister alleges contradiction in procedural treatment and seeks the definitive dismissal of the case, while the prosecution insists on the need for a trial to determine responsibilities.
In parallel, the Specialized Unit for Economic and Anti-Corruption Crimes of the Public Ministry requested expediency in the judgment of a pending appeal in the case known as "gold detergents," which involves the former mayor of Asunción, Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Quiñónez, and others accused of breach of trust. The request was presented to the Court of Appeal in criminal matters, after almost eight months without a decision on the appeal filed by the defense of Edwin López Cattebeke against a November 2025 sentence.