Opposition Senator Rafael Filizzola stated that President Santiago Peña's government demonstrates "absolute lack of control" and acts with the feeling that it needs to "steal with both hands" before leaving power in 2028. He highlighted as a primary concern the serious case in which the Social Security Institute (IPS) admitted to having exceeded legal limits for deposits at Ueno Bank, a bank with close ties to the government, without this generating the appropriate institutional reaction.
Filizzola mentioned that the impression of impunity is not limited to the IPS funds but extends to other significant cases, such as that of the former head of the Secretariat for Money Laundering Prevention (Seprelad), Óscar Boidanich, during Horacio Cartes's government, involving alleged money laundering in the Metrobús case, in addition to the imminent dismissal of complaints about Itaipú's purchase of "Chinese lecterns" and about President Peña's fortune.
According to the lawmaker, the IPS acknowledged violating the law by surpassing the 10% limit for deposits in a single financial institution, concentrating resources at Ueno Bank, which reportedly received approximately US$800 million in public deposits. Filizzola emphasized that the bank, which experienced rapid growth during this administration, maintains previous connections with President Peña.
He also criticized the silence of bodies such as Parliament and the Comptroller General's Office regarding these allegations, in addition to expressing concern about alleged business dealings by the Ueno group in other areas, such as the 5G network tender.
Among the examples cited of impunity, Filizzola mentioned that the Public Ministry sought a sentence of only two and a half years for Boidanich, accused of concealing information about money laundering linked to Darío Messer, who was convicted in Brazil as part of Operation Car Wash. Furthermore, the Comptroller's Office reportedly cleared Peña of asset irregularities without analyzing his period outside of public office, when he built a mansion valued at US$900,000 in San Bernardino.
Another recent case involves the dismissal by the Prosecutor's Office of a complaint about Itaipú's purchase of overpriced school furniture, allegedly involving the company Kamamya S.A., owned by Chinese businessman Long Jiang, who reportedly lent his private plane to Peña and Vice President Pedro Alliana before the elections.